


Song for the Asking

by RainbowDonkeys



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: 1960s, Fluff, Hippies, M/M, Road Trips, Romance, SlightAngst, Summer of 69
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-04
Updated: 2018-07-31
Packaged: 2019-05-02 00:39:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 23,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14532906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RainbowDonkeys/pseuds/RainbowDonkeys
Summary: It was the summer of '69, and Jongdae and Joonmyeon just finished high school. The two of them, taking a road trip in Jongdae's VW van, could lead to some epic disasters, or it could lead to the best adventures of their lives. It was the 1960's after all; anything could happen.warning: gay sex, psychadelic drugs, and a whole lot of hippie stereotypes





	1. Le Temps De L'amour by Francoise Hardy

**Author's Note:**

> Hello guys! So I've been meaning to write this story for about three years now and I'm finally getting to it! I can guaruntee you that this won't be the most accurate portrayal of the 60's, but I hope it'll still play off some of the tropes and be a fun story anyways! I don't want to make the story rated m, but I'll make smut chapters specifically rated m and put warnings on chapters with mentions of drugs. I hope you all enjoy!

The first week of June,1969, Oregon

Even though Joonmyeon had graduated high school the day before, he had nowhere better to be than laying on Jongdae's bed. As usual. Staring up at the all too familiar ceiling, he listened to the sound of Jongdae's record player as Jongdae furiously stuffed his clothes into a suitcase. 

"What are you even doing, man?" Joonmyeon asked, sitting up slightly to watch Jongdae and give him a confused look. 

Jongdae gave Joonmyeon a grin. "Didn't I tell you about the road trip?" 

Joonmyeon groaned and flopped back onto the bed, rolling his eyes. Why oh why did Joonmyeon have to be a part of all Jongdae's crazy schemes? Yes, Jongdae was his best and only friend since the first grade, but god were they different. 

"No, you did not tell me about the road trip," Joonmyeon sarcastically replied. 

"Well...you know I've been saving up for a VW van for a while..." Jongdae started, wearing that smile that assured Joonmyeon he'd be doing something ridiculous. "So I finally got enough money to buy it, and now we can finally go on the road trip." 

"We?" Joonmyeon cried. 

"Of course we, who else would I go with?" Jongdae responded. "We're going on a cross country road trip through this summer, all the way from here to New York!" 

"No way," Joonmyeon groaned back. 

"Dude, come on! Do you know how long I've been planning this? Two years! I've been saving up for the car for two years," Jongdae explained. 

"And you didn't think to tell me about these plans?" Joonmyeon exclaimed.

"I figured you'd just agree," Jongdae whined back. Joonmyeon gave him a look. "What? You always end up agreeing in the end." 

"First of all, what about my parents?" Joonmyeon asked. 

"You know they'll say yes. Anyways, you're eighteen, and you got straight A's all through high school. They have no reason not to trust you." 

"Second of all, what about my livelihood? It's dangerous out there," Joonmyeon whined. Jongdae shot him a look. 

"Joonmyeon," Jongdae said simply. "Why don't you want to go?" 

Joonmyeon sighed, running through his head. The truth was he did sort of want to go, but he was terrified. Who knows what could happen out there in the big crazy world?

"We all know you're a little sheltered, Myeonie. And I know you better than anyone else; you're not going to get out of your box in college. Don't you want to have some adventure? See the world a little bit?" Jongdae spoke. 

"Jongdae, we could get in so much trouble," Joonmyeon whined, and Jongdae rolled his eyes. 

"You're just mad because you know I'm right." 

Joonmyeon slid off of Jongdae's bed and gathered his things. 

"Dude, you can't just leave," Jongdae spoke. But Joonmyeon just ignored his words, and with that, he left. 

~~~~~~~~~~

Later that evening, nothing had changed. Joonmyeon was still laying on a bed, facing upward towards an all too familiar ceiling, except this time he was in his own bed. 

Jongdae had given him a lot to think about. Of course, he was right: Joonmyeon was extremely sheltered and even more uptight. During school, all he ever really did was study, do his student council work, and occasionally hang out with Jongdae. That was it. Jongdae was right too about things probably not changing for Joonmyeon during college. 

Deep inside, Joonmyeon did want to see what else was out there. He'd heard about so many things going on in the world right now: the hippies dotting the country, protests against the war everywhere, and a big festival in New York at the end of the summer. A part of him wanted to see and experience it all, to try everything, no matter what the risk. 

But another part of him was so, so scared. Partially of muggers and the dangerous people Joonmyeon knew were out there, but partially of letting himself be exposed to all these new things. He had absolutely no idea what was really out there, in the real world, and that was what scared him the most. 

How was Jongdae so unafraid? Well, Jongdae had always been the crazy one, especially in comparison to Joonmyeon. Where Joonmyeon was all tidy clothes and good grades and pleasing parents, Jongdae was a mess and a craving for adventure. In their small Oregon suburb, adventure was hard to find, and Joonmyeon knew Jongdae would someday go out and grab it. 

How had they been able to stay friends for so long in the first place? It was probably for this very reason: that Jongdae needed someone to take him back a notch when he went too wild, and Joonmyeon needed someone to force him out of his shell, his routine. 

When would an opportunity like this come again? After this he and Jongdae started college, and after that Joonmyeon would be working for the rest of his life. 

As crazy as it was, it was seeming like going on this cross country would be the best thing for him. For the first time maybe ever, Joonmyeon was going to do something a little out of the ordinary. 

"Fuck it," he spoke out loud, suddenly grabbing a suitcase and stuffing his clothes inside. He could refold them later; he just had to catch Jongdae before he actually left. Rushing into the bathroom, he grabbed all of his supplies and threw them inside. Reaching for a few last books, he zipped up his suitcase and rushed downstairs. 

How would the logistics of this even work? Joonmyeon knew he had cash saved up from summer jobs, so money wouldn't be a problem. Both he and Jongdae could drive, so they could switch off driving and paying for gas, plus Jongdae had his VW. Joonmyeon's fear was making him search for a reason to say no, but nothing came up. He had to take this chance. 

"Mom? Dad?" Joonmyeon called. His parents turned their heads to look at him standing there with his suitcase. 

"Ready for your road trip?" His father asked. Joonmyeon gave him an incredulous look. 

"Jongdae told us about the idea a few months ago. We were wondering why you'd never brought it up?" His mother asked. Joonmyeon chuckled uncomfortably, not quite sure what to say. 

"Uh...I didn't think there was anything to say!" Joonmyeon responded nervously, not wanting his parents to know how rushed this whole thing was on his part. 

"Alright then honey, write us often, and call whenever you're at a payphone!" His mother spoke, hugging Joonmyeon and giving him a kiss on each cheek. 

"I know you're a responsible young boy, just remember to take care of yourself," Joonmyeon's father added, hugging Joonmyeon too. 

"I love you guys!" Joonmyeon called, starting to head out of the door

"We love you too," his parents responded, and Joonmyeon shut the front gate behind him. He gave his home one last long, slightly confused look before heading down the street to Jongdae's house, the one he'd practically grown up in himself. 

Even though the night was cold Joonmyeon's body was on fire, the excitement and nervousness and brisk walking warming up his self. Luckily Jongdae's house was just a few blocks away, so he reached it quickly. 

Jongdae was packing his things into the trunk when he noticed Joonmyeon standing in his driveway, shooting him a grin. 

"I knew you'd come," he said with a knowing smile. 

"I can't believe you told my parents and not me!" Joonmyeon whined back. 

Jongdae shrugged. "I wanted to prepare them," he explained, and Joonmyeon rolled his eyes. "Here, let me put your luggage in the trunk." The two boys hoisted Joonmyeon's things into the car, Jongdae slamming the trunk door shut. 

Jongdae gave Joonmyeon a once over before speaking. "You look like you're in a state of shock. I'll drive first," Jongdae said, and Joonmyeon could only nod in agreement. He really was in a state of shock. 

Jongdae started the engine and pulled out of the driveway, leaving Joonmyeon to watch as his childhood neighborhood flew past him. The houses, the trees, the stars dotting the darkening night sky, each one he knew like the back of his hand. He'd never been too far from his home. He wondered how far from home he'd go. 

"Where are we even going, anyways?" Joonmyeon asked. 

"First stop: San Francisco!" Jongdae said excitedly, speeding up and heading to the highway. 

"Hippie central?" Joonmyeon asked cautiously. 

Jongdae grinned and winked. "Of course." 

"I-I've heard they're dangerous," Joonmyeon stuttered. 

"A lot of things are dangerous, my friend." 

"B-but--" 

"We're gonna see the world, Joonmyeon. And the world has a lot of weird people. You're gonna have to get used to it if you want to have a good time," Jongdae explained. 

Joonmyeon rolled his eyes and slumped into his seat. Joonmyeon really was going to go on this damn road trip. Who knew if he would have a good time, but he was going. 


	2. California Dreamin' By the Mamas and the Papas

The Second Week of June, 1969, San Francisco, California

Despite being on the road with Jongdae for almost an entire week, Joonmyeon's reluctance for this trip hadn't quite gone away. So far, the barely legal pair had not run into much trouble: a complete fluke, if you asked Joonmyeon. But Joonmyeon was always on the lookout for it. 

"You've got to relax, man. Chill out. It's summer," Jongdae commented one day as the boys drove along the bright California highway.n

"How can I relax? We are just two teenage boys, completely on our own. Who knows what could happen?" Joonmyeon responded. 

Jongdae sighed. "If you want to have fun, you've got to loosen up. Look, I'm not saying you're stupid for worrying...but you can't worry so much that it stops you from having a good time. Out of anyone I know, you need it." 

"What's that supposed to mean?" Joonmyeon asked. 

"It's just that you don't seem to have fun much," Jongdae commented. 

"I do too have fun! I have lots of good times," Joonmyeon whined. 

"I mean, if your idea of a good time is sitting around hunched over a desk doing extra credit, then I guess you do," Jongdae responded. 

Joonmyeon humphed and crossed his arms, sitting back in the rickety chair of the car. 

"Come on, man. I'm only trying to help. You're my best friend, I want you to have fun. And I want this trip to be fun! Remember, this is our last summer before we both go to different colleges," Jongdae spoke. 

Joonmyeon sighed; Jongdae was right. Their colleges weren't nearby at all, so then Joonmyeon would have to make new friends. Joonmyeon shuddered at the thought. He could barely maintain the one friend he had. 

"Anyways, we're getting close to our first real stop. San Francisco!" Jongdae said excitedly. Joonmyeon did perk up a little; he'd always wanted to visit the city. And even though cities did have their dangers, at least they weren't out in the middle of nowhere. 

"There's the golden gate bridge!" Joonmyeon spoke excitedly, pointing off into the distance to the orange-red bridge, the bright color peeking out through the fog. 

"We're almost there. And then we can see the sights and sleep on a real hotel bed instead of in the back of the van!" Jongdae cheered. Joonmyeon cheered along with him, and finally this trip began to feel worthwhile. 

Joonmyeon looked on in awe as Jongdae drove over the bridge, the fog parting around their car as Joonmyeon saw the city skyline grow closer and closer. Joonmyeon had a feeling in his heart that this would be a fantastical place. 

The two boys quickly reached their cheap motel, parking their car and taking their things up to the room. 

"How long are we planning on staying here?" Joonmyeon asked, sitting down on the king sized bed and sighing. 

"A full day. It's pretty late now, I mean, the sun is starting to set and I know we're both tired from driving all day, so we'll probably crash soon. We can spend tomorrow sight seeing, and then we'll leave early the next morning," Jongdae explained. Joonmyeon nodded and hummed to himself. 

"I call shower first!" Jongdae suddenly shouted, grabbing a towel and running into the bathroom. 

"You suck!" Joonmyeon whined back with a groan. But Joonmyeon was super exhausted anyways; by the time Jongdae came out of the bathroom Joonmyeon was already asleep. Jongdae laughed at his lame yet lovable best friend, tucking him under the covers and crawling on to the other side of the bed. 

~~~~~~~~~~

After some light breakfast and a much needed shower, Joonmyeon was more then ready to take on the day. He needed a break from being stuck in that damn van with Jongdae; it was fun but Jongdae could easily talk his ear off. It would be nice to actually do something. 

The boys first made their way down to Fisherman's Wharf, trying some of the seafood and buying useless souveniers, of course. Then they visited Chinatown,  going into all the different shops and eating yummy dim sum for lunch. Finally, the sun was beginning to set in the sky, and they'd almost reached the end of their day of sight seeing. 

"There's one more place I want to go," Jongdae said. 

"Where?" Joonmyeon asked. He knew there were a lot of places to go in San Francisco, but he figured he and Jongdae had covered the most important ones. 

Jongdae sighed. "Dude, we're in San Francisco. We've got to visit Haight and Ashbury street." 

Joonmyeon's eyes widened at the mention of the place. He'd heard it was the center of all things hippie; his parents had told him that for the past two summers crazy people from all over the country had come there to take drugs and not work. 

"B-but isn't that dangerous?" Joonmyeon asked. 

"No way! I mean, we need to see it," Jongdae responded. 

Joonmyeon hummed to himself. He was curious to see what actual hippies were like in real life. Anyways, they didn't have to talk to anyone; they could just look. 

"I guess you're right," Joonmyeon conceded, and Jongdae grinned excitedly. 

"Come on, let's call a cab!" 

The boys reached the street in just a few minutes. It was exactly as Joonmyeon had expected, shops selling tie dye and records lining the streets, people dressed in long, billowy clothes and covered in flowers, most (girls and boys alike) with long hair. Their eyes were red and slitted and Joonmyeon could tell they were stoned out of their minds, but there was genuine laughter on their lips that made Joonmyeon feel less intimidated. Still, Joonmyeon's eyes stayed permanently widened in nervousness, but Jongdae tugged him out of the cab before he could protest. 

"This is so amazing! We're right here at the center of culture, man," Jongdae spoke, looking up at down at all the people and buildings. A hippie couple waved to Joonmyeon and Jongdae and Jongdae immediately waved back, but Joonmyeon was too in shock to really react. 

People were sitting on the on street, smoking who knows what and laughing with each other. He could hear snippets of conversation, some about clothes or events or music, and some about politics and nature and everything in between. It was everything and nothing like Joonmyeon had imagined, so he was frozen in place. 

In his own excitement Jongdae barely noticed Joonmyeon's mood, dragging him past the streets and into all of the record shops and clothes stores and little cafes. Jongdae didn't need to buy anything, no, he just wanted to see anything and everything the street had to offer. Joonmyeon always knew Jongdae wasn't born for their small town; he was always meant to find something bigger than himself, somewhere far away to live. But Joonmyeon had no idea how meaningful all of this was to Jongdae. 

Finally, they reached the end of Haight street. Although the street itself stopped, there was an entrance to Golden Gate Park right in front of them. In the distance, Joonmyeon could hear laughter and music coming from the park. 

"I've gotta use the bathroom," he said. 

Jongdae nodded. "Alright, I think I'm going to go see what's going on in the park. I promise I won't go too far. Meet me there when you're done." 

Joonmyeon nodded and walked a block down the street until he reached a tie dye shop. He quickly used their bathroom and was about to exit when he noticed all the different clothes in front of him. Although it wasn't his style at all, the patterns seemed to be calling to him in that moment. Anyways, Joonmyeon could use some color in his life. 

"Fuck it," he thought, and grabbed a rainbow spiral tie dye top. He paid for the top and stuffed into his bag before walking back to the entrance to the park. 

The area was so tranquil, Joonmyeon thought. The sound of birds chirping, the rush of water, mixed with the noise of happy people off in the distance. Although the noise grew closer and closer as Joonmyeon walked deeper into the park it was never disturbing, something Joonmyeon highly appreciated. 

At last, Joonmyeon stepped off of the path and into the main area of the park. Vast expanses of grass covered the area as far as Joonmyeon's eye could see. To his right was a hill, only ever so slightly steep, with a crowd of people at its base. Clearly hippies with their billowing hair and pants, Joonmyeon realized they were the source of the noise. Bongo drums, guitars, and laughter all mixed together to create a vibe that somehow matched the park perfectly. Joonmyeon figured Jongdae was in that crowd, and walked towards them. 

Joonmyeon was right; Jongdae was with the hippies. He was sitting in between a guy and a girl, laughing and talking with them. But as Joonmyeon came closer, he became angry. The hippie guy had a lighter between his fingers and Jongdae had a pipe in his hands!

"Hey!" Joonmyeon said angrily, stomping over to the group. Jongdae looked up at Joonmyeon and immediately appeared guilty, passing the hippie girl the pipe. "What were you doing?" Joonmyeon asked with furrowed brows. 

Jongdae simply grimaced and the hippie man decided to speak for him. 

"Chill out man, we were only letting him try our reefer. He's never smoked before! I feel like you could use some," he spoke. Joonmyeon simply shot him a glare and this time, he was the one tugging Jongdae along. 

"Why are you so mad?" Jongdae asked Joonmyeon once they were away from the group and waiting for their taxi. 

"Why are you so irresponsible?" Joonmyeon responded. 

Jongdae chuckled and poked Joonmyeon's shoulder. "I think you're just jealous that I have the courage to go out and have fun." 

"Tomorrow in the car, we're listening to my records," Joonmyeon responded, and with that, the taxi took them back. 


	3. El Condor Pasa (If I Could) by Simon and Garfunkel

The Third Week of June, Utah

"Look, I'm sorry for ditching you to try pot, okay? But the whole point of this trip was to explore the world and try new things! I really wanted to hang out with those hippies," Jongdae said. 

Joonmyeon just crossed his arms and continued staring out of the front window. In all honesty, he wasn't mad at Jongdae for wanting to try marijuana. He was mad at him for doing it without letting Joonmyeon know. Joonmyeon's biggest fear was all of them staying safe, and Jongdae leaving him to go with strangers crossed the line for Joonmyeon. 

"It's fine," Joonmyeon sighed. It may have been insincere, but he was sick of fighting with Jongdae. They hadn't been friendly for about two days. 

"Come on," Jongdae whined. "Let's not let this taint the rest of our trip."

"Just promise me you'll be more careful, alright?" Joonmyeon asked desperately. Jongdae looked back at him and nodded seriously. 

"I promise," he responded, and Joonmyeon knew it was sincere. He gave Jongdae a smile, and Jongdae smiled back at him. 

"Now drive faster; let's get out of this depressing state," Joonmyeon said. Jongdae chuckled and pressed harder on the pedal speeding forward. 

Joonmyeon was glad that Jongdae was letting him play his records, but Utah was boring as hell. Nothing but plain highway, surrounded by suburbs or dry desert. Occasionally they'd pass a beautiful rock formation, but even those were starting to get boring after seeing them so many times. The two teenagers had barely passed any cars in the state, and they hadn't seen one person. 

That was, until an actual human being started to come into view. 

"Is that...a person?" Jongdae asked, slowing the car down slightly. Joonmyeon leaned in closer to the window and squinted. 

"I think so," he responded. As they came in closer, the person in question became clearer. It was a man wearing a suit, fairly short, probably in his mid to late twenties. He was breathing heavily, his chest heaving up and down, and he most definitely looked spooked. His thumb was also out and bags were at his feet, obviously a hitchhiker. 

"Should we pick him up?" Jongdae quietly asked Joonmyeon, even though there was no way he could hear them. Joonmyeon gave him a once over. 

"I mean, he doesn't seem dangerous. And anyways, hitchhikers are a good way to find adventure," Joonmyeon responded. Jongdae grinned and nodded at his best friend as he pulled up beside the man.

He unrolled his window and stuck his head outside of it. "Where are you headed?" Jongdae asked the man. 

"Anywhere!" He nervously yelled back. "Anywhere but here!" 

Jongdae slowly turned his head back to Joonmyeon and the pair shared an extremely uncomfortable look before turning back to the hitchhiker. 

"Uh...you can come in," Jongdae responded. 

"Oh thank god," the man breathed out. Jongdae unlocked the door and the man slid into the back seat, still panting as Jongdae drove off. 

"So, what brings you on the road?" Joonmyeon asked only out of politeness, chuckling uncomfortably. 

"I had to leave! I had to escape!" The man shouted. "Yeah, maybe I'm living the dream. Twenty six with a stable career, beautiful wife, two kids, and my faith, but I couldn't take it any more! I just fucking couldn't! Oh, they used to say, 'Kim Minseok, you have it all', yeah fucking right. I have a religion I don't believe in, a job I hate, and a wife I don't even love! I couldn't do it!" 

Joonmyeon and Jongdae shared a shocked yet still uncomfortable look. 

"I-I'm glad you got out of there if you were so unhappy then," Jongdae stammered with a grimace. 

"You know what? I'm fucking glad too. No one's gonna come after me either; I left my wife the credit card so she won't care at all. No more wife, no more mormon church. I, Kim Minseok, am free! Wahoo!" He shouted in the car, and Jongdae and Joonmyeon's shared look became one of fear. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea letting this man into their car. 

Joonmyeon and Jongdae decided not to speak for a few minutes, trying to let the weird guy they'd stupidly let into their car calm down. He eventually stopped cheering and panting, but he was still grinning widely. Joonmyeon and Jongdae weren't sure whether or not to be afraid of that grin. 

"So, your name is Minseok?" Jongdae bravely asked about a half an hour later. 

"I'm Kim Minseok, I'm twenty six, and I used to be a former chair at a big corporation, and a prominent member in my town's Mormon church. But now, I'm not! I quit my job, I quit the church, and I burned my Mormon underwear!" He spoke excitedly. 

"Do you...have a plan?" Joonmyeon asked. 

Minseok laughed maniacally. "Absolutely not!" Minseok responded. "I'm just going to live! Live for myself! Live free! For the first time in my life! Wherever you guys drop me off, I'll see if I like it. If I don't, I'll just hitchhike somewhere else!" 

Joonmyeon and Jongdae nodded. They were beginning to realize that this man wasn't actually crazy, just a guy pushed to the very edge. Their fear and confusion was starting to be replaced by understanding and sympathy. 

Suddenly, Minseok chuckled. "I just realized I don't know anything about you guys. What are your names? Where are you headed?" He asked. 

"Well I'm Jongdae, and this is Joonmyeon," Jongdae spoke, gesturing to himself and then his friend. "We're actually from Oregon. We just graduated from high school, and now we're on a cross country road trip before college starts," he explained. 

Minseok sighed dreamily. "I'm so glad for you kids. I wish I'd been able to go on a road trip when I was your age, but no, I had to do my mission, then settle down, then get a stable career, then have as many kids as I could, then die! But no more! Now I'm free!" 

"I'm...so happy for you..." Joonmyeon responded, still slightly uncomfortable. The group fell silent, simply listening to the Simon and Garfunkel record Joonmyeon had put into the car. The sun was beginning to set, and suddenly the bland desert landscape began to look beautiful with the orange, pink, and purple tones casting across it. With a satisfied smile, Joonmyeon leaned on the edge of the window and watched. 

He really was grateful that he hadn't grown up in a household like Minseok's, where there was one direction his life could go in, and that was it. He was able to experience everything this world had to offer, and maybe now he was beginning to understand Jongdae a bit more. The two of them were practically given the world, why not explore each and every part of it? If you lived your life afraid of the world around you, you'd end up unhappy and unsatisfied like poor Minseok. 

Finally, night fell on the road, and Jongdae continued driving. 

"I'm getting tired, we should find a motel," Jongdae spoke. Because Minseok was a total stranger, it was obvious they wouldn't just sleep in the back of the van like usual.

"Agreed," Joonmyeon spoke, and Minseok nodded. 

"Do you have any particular directions you want to go in? I mean, I know you just want to get out of the state, but is there anywhere you want to see?" Jongdae asked Minseok. 

Minseok shook his head, having calmed down considerably. "Nope! Anywhere life takes me, I'll follow," Minseok responded. 

At the first motel the boys saw on the side of the road, Jongdae drove up to it and parked. The three guys went to the front desk, getting one room for Jongdae and Joonmyeon and another for Minseok. 

"I'll pay," Minseok spoke, handing the secretary his card. 

"That's so sweet! You don't have to," Joonmyeon spoke. 

"Count this as my gas money," Minseok responded, smiling at the two boys as the woman handed him his keys. "Anyways, I'm in a good mood. I know we're close to the state border and tomorrow, I'll be out of here. Then I never have to look back again." 

Jongdae and Joonmyeon smiled at the weird man. "Somehow....I'm really proud of you," Joonmyeon spoke from the heart. 

"Thanks, man," Minseok responded. "Now let's go up to bed. I wanna get up bright and early tomorrow so we can get the fuck out of here!" 

The boys laughed and after wishing Minseok goodnight, they headed up to their room. 

"He was awfully weird, wasn't he? Nice, but really weird," Jongdae spoke. 

"Agreed. It makes me wonder though; what weird stuff are we going to encounter next?" Joonmyeon asked. 

"Who knows. What the hell is even in Colorado anyways?" Jongdae asked, unlocking the door to their motel room. 

"I guess we'll find out," Joonmyeon responded. The boys simply kicked off their shoes and washed up, and after the excitement of they day, they couldn't do anything but fall asleep. 


	4. Mother Nature's Son by The Beatles

The Fourth Week of June, 1969, Colorado

"Shit," Jongdae mumbled. Joonmyeon turned towards his best friend, who was glaring at the dashboard of his VW in anger. Minseok snorted and awoke from his nap, shaking his head from the backseat. 

"What's up?" Minseok asked sleepily, still groggy from his nap in the hot sunlight of the car. 

"We're almost out of gas," Jongdae responded. 

"Oh fuck," Minseok mumbled, and Joonmyeon groaned alongside him. The three men were in the middle of nowhere here in Colorado. They deeper they drove into the state, the less they saw towns and even other people, and by this point the highways were almost deserted. They hadn't seen a single town or person for miles, and a gas station was probably out of the question for them. 

"Let's pray we pass a phone booth," Joonmyeon spoke softly as Jongdae continued to drive, almost in a panic. 

Joonmyeon and Minseok leaned over to stare at the dashboard as Jongdae drove, watching as the dial for gas got closer and closer to empty. 

"Wait!" Joonmyeon cried a few miles down the road. He pointed toward a group of three people walking down the side of the highway with joy, and the others in the car almost cried from relief. He opened the window of the car, all nerves out of the window because of the relief he felt. 

"Excuse me!" He shouted towards the group. They all turned towards him and walked over to the window. 

"What's up, man?" One of the guys asked, pushing back his long, unkempt hair. 

"Where's the nearest gas station?" Joonmyeon asked the group. 

"Uh...." The other man spoke, the group looking at each other in a daze. Joonmyeon rolled his eyes, realizing that all of them were stoned out of their minds. Joonmyeon didn't like putting his faith in a group of people who were high out of their minds. 

"Right down that road," the girl in the group eventually said, pointing to a gravel road shooting off of the highway. From what Minseok, Jongdae, and Joonmyeon could see, it lead deep into the woods. It didn't look promising, but it was really the only option they had. 

"Thank you thank you thank you," Jongdae breathed out as Joonmyeon shut the window. Hesitantly Jongdae turned their car off of the highway and began to drive down the gravel path. 

The gravel quickly turned into a simple dirt road, the view of the highway fading further and further into the distance as the trees surrounding them pressed in closer and closer. 

"Shit shit shit," Jongdae mumbled under his breath, still driving forward, too panicked to turn around. 

"We're going to die. We're going to die!" Joonmyeon spoked to himself. 

"God, we're fucked," Minseok said as all traces of civilization faded away completely, leaving the car lost in the woods. 

"I think I see a clearing up ahead," Joonmyeon spoke, pointing to an area that at least had some light, off in the distance a bit. 

"Maybe those people weren't dumbasses," Jongdae responded, and sped up the car. 

Quickly they reached the clearing, but as they came upon it, their hearts fell. They'd definitely found some sort of civilization, but not the kind they'd been looking for. The clearing contained quite a few cabins, small farms growing vegetables, and a fire pit in the very center, but no gas station. 

"Whelp," Jongdae simply spoke, the group left speechless at their inevitable disaster. But suddenly, people began to poke their heads out of the cabin. Men and women, mostly young, wearing loose clothing and long hair. They stared at the car in surprise, looking it over with some sort of confusion. 

"We must get Yixing," someone spoke, and a few people ran off to the largest cabin and knocked on the door. A man, probably not much younger than Minseok emerged, the people whispering to him. He nodded softly, brushing his long black hair out of his eyes and walking over to Jongdae's car in a trance. The people looked at him as if in awe, and Joonmyeon was beyond confused. 

"Hello, my friends," the man apparently named Yixing spoke to the group. "Don't worry, we won't hurt you." The three shared a look and exited the car, standing in front of it uncomfortably. 

"My name is Yixing," the man introduced, "And these are my people. We live off the land, what the goddess, mother nature, has given us. We try to live by her ways to attain enlightenment and inner peace. Have you come to seek this inner peace?" Yixing asked. 

"Uh, we were just looking for a gas station," Minseok responded, as Jongdae eyed Yixing up and down. "We're almost out." 

"Oh, are you on a journey?" Yixing asked. 

"Yep, cross country," Jongdae responded, still checking Yixing out. 

"Well, we do have a bit of car gas in our reserves, just in case of emergencies. But I would love to get to know you all better. Would you care to stay the night in our little community? We'll provide some dinner and a place to sleep," Yixing said. 

"Oh absolutely, we'd love to stay the night," Jongdae repsonded, throwing Yixing a wink. Joonmyeon turned his head to glower at Jongdae. They didn't even know these people! This could be a cult! A cult of murderers! 

Yixing gave Joonmyeon a smile and he knew they were fucked. "That's perfect. We can show you our ways. Come on, I will give a tour of our land," he spoke, beckoning the three to follow him. Jongdae walked on without hesitation, and Minseok shrugged at Joonmyeon before following. Joonmyeon rolled his eyes, sighed, and followed along soon after. 

He ran over to Jongdae and tugged him by the shirtsleeve. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Joonmyeon angrily muttered under his breath. 

Jongdae just smiled back. "He's cute, isn't he?"

"We are not risking our lives just for you to get laid," Joonmyeon groaned. 

"Come on! He's just a hippie guy who loves mother nature and the goddess. He wouldn't hurt a fly," Jongdae responded. 

"You've known him five minutes!" Joonmyeon whisper yelled. 

But before Jongdae could respond, Yixing beckoned them closer. 

"This is where we grow our food. Our animals are in the other side of our community. We grow everything we eat here, just like the goddess intented. We only use our animals for their milk and eggs as well; never the meat." 

"That's beautiful. Just like you," Jongdae responded, staring at Yixing. 

"You as well. Your soul is beautiful; I can tell by your aura," he responded. Joonmyeon immediately facepalmed and Minseok covered his mouth to hold back his laughter. 

And that was how it continued for the next few hours; Jongdae flirting with Yixing in the most cheesy way possibly and Yixing flirting back (in his own special way). Minseok and Joonmyeon continued to be embarrassed by Jongdae, but at least it seemed like this 'community' wasn't exactly dangerous, to Joonmyeon's relief. 

"It's time to eat!" Yixing said excitedly when they were finally done with the tour, going back into Yixing's cabin. "One of my people has cooked our food for the evening, special for the guests." 

They sat down at what looked like a hand made wooden table, an effeminate boy with long hair who couldn't have been too much older than Joonmyeon or Jongdae. His eyes flashed immediately to Minseok, and they stared at each other before they turned away out of politeness. 

"Thank you Luhan," Yixing spoke, and Luhan simply nodded in response, sitting down in between Yixing and Minseok. He gave Minseok a bright smile before looking at Yixing expectantly. 

"Before we eat, let us thank the goddess for all she has given us, and promise to respect her in all possible ways. Thank you, mother nature, for the gift of life," Yixing spoke, and bowed at the food. Luhan followed, and Jongdae, Joonmyeon, and Minseok did the same to fit in. 

As they began to eat, Joonmyeon realized he was in a worse situation than he thought. Although he was probably safe, he had now become the fifth wheel at this crazy hippie commune. Jongdae and Yixing were still flirting, Jongdae pretending to be interested in Yixing's hippie bullshit so he could get into Jongdae's pants. On the other side, Minseok and Luhan were chatting up a storm. Joonmyeon was actually pretty happy for Minseok, he definitely needed to get laid, but now he was left all on his own. At least the food tasted fresh. 

Once the meal was over, Yixing looked at each and every one of the people sitting at that table. 

"My good friends," he spoke. "I believe that the five of us have truly made a connection with one another. I would like for all of us to embark on a journey together, to explore the goddess, each other, and our own selves. Do you all want to take magic mushrooms?" 

"Yes! We all want to take them," Jongdae immediately responded, nodding vigorously. 

What the hell was Jongdae thinking? This guy was inviting them to take psychadelic drugs with him! How could he agree so easily? 

"I'd love to," Minseok responded, but Joonmyeon couldn't be mad at him. The man definitely needed adventure. 

Luhan confirmed his agreement with a silent nod to Yixing. Now, it was all on Joonmyeon. 

Yes, that would be dangerous. But weren't they already in enough danger staying at this random commune overnight? Anyways, Joonmyeon was curious to try. How much more insane could things get. 

"Alright, sure," Joonmyeon spoke. "Let's do it." 


	5. Tomorrow Never Knows by The Beatles

The Fourth Week of June, 1969, Colorado

After Minseok, Jongdae, and Joonmyeon had agreed to take the shrooms (or go on the spiritual journey, as Yixing put it), Yixing and Luhan led them out into a smaller clearing in the woods, surrounded by trees. Luckily the community was close by in case anything went wrong, but it was still mostly secluded. 

"Be ready for anything. Leave yourself open to the goddess," Yixing spoke as he passed around the mushrooms. As soon as Yixing sat back down the boys began to eat them, and they were quickly all gone. 

For a while, things were quite normal (well, as normal as they could be surrounded by strangers at a hippie commune in the middle of nowhere). Minseok and Luhan were softly talking and Yixing and Jongdae were flirting like idiots, Jongdae's hand resting on Yixing's thigh. Usually, Joonmyeon would've been annoyed by Jongdae abandoning him to get laid. But now, Joonmyeon didn't quite mind. The sun was setting in the sky, and the way the light filtered in through the trees gave the entire landscape a soft glow. The only noises that could be heard were the wind through the trees, his friend's soft laughter, and the occasional chirp of a bird. It smelled like bark and nature and life and for a moment, maybe Joonmyeon understood a little bit why Yixing and Luhan decided to live this way. 

But all of Joonmyeon's contentment immediately disappeared when the nausea came. It hit him hard, forcing him to clutch his stomach and mouth. Looking around, Joonmyeon noticed Minseok and Jongdae were reacting the same way. Even Luhan looked slightly uncomfortable, although he seemed fairly used to the situation. Joonmyeon was glad he wasn't the only one not feeling well. 

"Don't worry my loves, this feeling is quite normal. Soon, it will all disipate into magic," Yixing spoke in his strangely comforting voice. Joonmyeon winced and he heard Jongdae wretch beside him, rubbing his back even though Joonmyeon himself felt like absolute trash. 

"When will it go away?" Jongdae whined to Yixing as Minseok rested his head in Luhan's lap. 

"Soon, love, soon," Yixing responded. 

And even though Joonmyeon thought the horrible nauseousness would never end, Yixing did turn out to be right. But Joonmyeon barely noticed his stomach problems going away when the trees were surrounding him. 

Now, Joonmyeon knew what trees looked like, but he'd never seen them like this before. Trees were always green but they'd never been this shade of green, and the bark had texture but Joonmyeon hadn't been able to see it from so far away, and were they starting to wiggle?

"Jongdae," Joonmyeon called softly, tapping his friend on the arm and grinning wide. "Look at the trees." 

Jongdae gasped and grinned as well. "It's so pretty! They're....they're trees!" The trees began to wiggle more now, and Joonmyeon simply watched them in awe. 

The others surrounding Joonmyeon simply faded from the view and all that Joonmyeon saw was the beauty of the nature surrounding him. The wiggling of the trees became waves, sort of like the water, rippling back and forth against the orange purple blue pink sky of sunset. Joonmyeon giggled; the trees were moving. How ridiculous!

He laid down onto the grass beneath him and stared up at the sky. Each and every color seemed to stand out, every slight difference noticable to Joonmyeon's heightened eyes. They seemed to swirl together and apart, like water color paints on a board, pushed apart and together by some unseen force Joonmyeon could not have possibly explained. 

Joonmyeon reached his hand to caress the grass beneath him, feeling each and every dry patch, cut, and indentation in each and every blade he touched. He could feel the individual blades curve around his fingers, almost like they were trying to swallow him up, take him back into the depths of the earth where he belonged. 

Where did Joonmyeon belong? He asked himself. He knew where he belonged in human society; he was an intelligent boy destined for good things, meant to be a caretaker and a hard worker for his friends and family. But where did he belong amongst this, amongst the swirling landscape of the trees and the sky and the grass? Where did he really belong? 

Without the inhibitions of a solid state of mind, Joonmyeon could admit to himself that he had absolutely no idea. He had no real idea of what he wanted for himself, and not other people. But somehow, that didn't make him afraid, it only made him determined to find out. 

He was going to find himself along the rest of this road trip, whatever he did. If he let go of all the hang ups society had created, release all of his inhibitions, Joonmyeon could live and find out what the real purpose of all of this was. 

He made that promise to himself: no more fear. 

"Are we ready to go back to the community?" Yixing asked in a soft tone, bringing everyone out of whatever zone they'd descended into. Joonmyeon realized he wasn't high anymore, but he definitely felt like he was in a state of euphoria. Never in his life had he felt so free. 

He could tell everyone else felt the same way, laughing and smiling not because of the drugs but because what they'd discovered about themselves. It was personal, but the emotions felt shared, since they'd been on that other plane together. 

Everyone else agreed that they were ready, and they stood up to walk back to the others. 

"How long were we out?" Jongdae called to Yixing. 

"About five hours," Yixing responded. Joonmyeon's jaw dropped; he couldn't believe he'd spent five hours just staring at trees and grass. 

Yixing lead Minseok, Joonmyeon, and Jongdae into one of the spare cabins, setting up some bedding for the three of them. They all thanked Yixing profusely, for everything, before falling asleep. 

~~~~~~~~~~

When Joonmyeon awoke the next morning, he was the only one in the bed. Usually he would've been in a state of panic about his situation, but because of his trip the evening before, Joonmyeon let himself calm down with the knowledge that everything would be alright. 

He made the beds before stepping out of the cabin, finding Jongdae waiting outside, wearing a shit eating grin. 

"Did you guys..." Joonmyeon started, and Jongdae nodded smugly. 

"He told me that being with me made that trip one of his favorites ever, so once Minseok snuck out to go make love with that guy Luhan, I figured I might as well too. So I went to his cabin, knocked on his door, and told him that mother nature destined us to fuck." 

Joonmyeon chuckled happily. "Was it any good?"

Jongdae simply released a moan. "Absolutely fantastic." 

Just then, Yixing approached them, wearing an even more blissed out expression than he had before. Jongdae threw him a wink and Yixing grinned, and Joonmyeon figured he enjoyed the sex as much as Jongdae did. 

"I know you three must be on your way now, but I've prepared some natural food for you all, as well as given you our spare gas. I really enjoyed our time together. I'm glad the goddess decided we were meant to cross paths," Yixing spoke sincerely. 

"Me too, Yixing. Thank you for everything," Joonmyeon responded. 

"Who knows, maybe we'll cross paths again?" Jongdae added, rubbing Yixing's arm. Yixing smiled at the affectionate touch, and they began to walk over to Jongdae's car. 

Once they arrived, Minseok and Luhan were already waiting for them. 

"Ready to go?" Jongdae asked Minseok. Minseok just hummed back, looking over at Luhan before turning back to his hitchhiking buddies. 

"To be honest... I-I've really made a connection here, especially with Luhan. I think my place is here now. If it's okay with you, Yixing, I'd like to join your community," Minseok spoke. 

Yixing smiled back him. "Of course; we will welcome you with open arms." 

Minseok turned back to the others. "Thanks for everything, guys. You all were the best, and I hope you have an amazing time on the rest of your road trip." 

"Aw, Minseok!" Jongdae responded, pulling Minseok into a tight hug. Joonmyeon gave him a hug as well. Although he was sad to see his new friend go, he was happy Minseok had found a place where he could finally be happy after so many years of living a lie. 

"Goodbye everyone!" Joonmyeon called, hopping into the driver's seat of the car. Jongdae gave Yixing one last kiss before finally hopping inside. 

The pair drove off, a sense of sadness falling over them at the thought of leaving behind such a magical place and magical experiences. But at the same time, they were excited for what was to come. How could they not be? Their minds were expanded, and they were ready for anything. 

"Where next?" Joonmyeon asked as they got back onto the highway, driving on forward. 

"Kansas," Jongdae said whistfully, smiling at Joonmyeon. Joonmyeon laughed. 

"There better be gas stations there." 


	6. For Emily, Wherever I May Find Her by Simon and Garfunkel

The First Week of July, 1969, Kansas

In the wake of their adventurous day with Yixing and his community, the monotony of the Kansas landscape was almost unbearable. Field after field of bland farmland droned on for mile after mile, and it took copious amounts of caffiene for whoever was driving to stay awake (luckily for the person in the passenger's seat, they could nap to their heart's content). 

But on a particularly monotonous day, as Jongdae was driving, he saw something in the distance that broke up the boring landscape. 

"Joonmyeon!" Jongdae shouted, and Joonmyeon shook awake. 

"Huh?" Joonmyeon sleepily responded. 

"People!" Jongdae cried, excitedly pointing off into the distance. If Joonmyeon squinted, he could see them too: what appeared to be three people, holding some luggage. 

As they got closer Joonmyeon noticed it was three guys: one really short, one pretty tall, and one really tall. The pretty tall one had his thumb sticking out into the road. 

"They're hitchhikers," Joonmyeon commented. 

"Handsome, too," Jongdae added, waggling his eyebrows at Joonmyeon before turning back to the road. 

"Dude, you just got laid," Joonmyeon responded. 

"I meant for you, dumbass. Now let's pick them up." 

Joonmyeon couldn't argue with that, so he simply sighed and watched them through the front window as their VW came in closer and closer. Jongdae was right, they were quite handsome, especially the super tall one. Joonmyeon held back a soft smile, fearing Jongdae would tease him endlessly for it. 

Finally, Jongdae approached the three guys and rolled down his window. "Where are you headed?" Jongdae asked. 

"East," the tall one simply responded in a deep voice that sent shivers down Joonmyeon's spine. 

"Us too! Hop in," Jongdae responded, unlocking the back door. The three guys headed inside, and just like that they were back on their way. 

The small one sighed. "Ugh, thank god you guys picked us up. We hadn't seen a car for ages," he dramatically complained. 

"What were you guys doing on this road?" The pretty tall one asked. 

"We're on a roadtrip," Jongdae explained. Joonmyeon was still staring at the really tall guy through the back facing mirror and was too flustered to speak. "This is Joonmyeon, and I'm Jongdae. We just graduated high school so now we're on a cross country road trip," Jongdae said. 

"Groovy," the average on the tall side guy spoke. 

"Are you guys going to Woodstock? The big music festival in a few weeks?" The short one asked. 

Jongdae chuckled. "We weren't planning on it, but we always could. Is that where you guys are headed?" Jongdae asked. 

The small one nodded. "Yeah, I'm Baekhyun," he said. "This is Jongin," he added, gesturing to the pretty tall one, "And that's Yifan," he finished, gesturing to the really tall guy. Jongin smiled and Yifan nodded. "We're in a band called Flowers of the Sun. We're gonna play at Woodstock, but our manager has all of our equipment and he's on the east coast. Our car broke down while we were doing a gig here in Kansas, and we thought we were screwed. So thank god you guys came along," Baekhyun explained. 

"You guys have a band? How cool! What do you all play?" Jongdae asked. 

"I sing, Jongin is the lead guitarist, and Yifan is on bass. Yifan's our leader, too. And our drummer..." Baekhyun trailed off as Jongin and Yifan grumbled. "Well, our old drummer abandoned us, so we're in need of a new one," Baekhyun finished. 

As Jongdae, Baekhyun, and Jongin made mindless conversation, Joonmyeon eyed the three men. They couldn't have been too much older than himself and Jongdae, probably around nineteen or twenty years old. Baekhyun was smiley and talkative, with delicate, almost feminine features and auburn hair. Jongin was much quieter than Baekhyun but still spoke up frequently, with a jarringly chiseled face and pitch black hair. He looked charming and handsome, but Joonmyeon barely paid attention to him. All of his attention was focused on Yifan. He was so tall, probably about half a foot taller than Joonmyeon himself, with dirty blonde hair. He had a dominating, manly appearance, and a stoic, strong presence. Joonmyeon couldn't help but swoon already. 

"Are you all ready to stop for lunch?" Jongdae cried, suddenly tearing Joonmyeon out of his thoughts. Come to think of it, he was really hungry. 

Everyone cheered and luckily, they just so happened to pass a diner on the side of the road. They pulled in and ordered, all five of them cramming into a booth. 

Jongdae immediately sat down next to his new bff Baekhyun, with Jongin sliding in next to Baekhyun. That left Joonmyeon to sit down next to Yifan, the pair of them sitting across from the other in the red diner booth. 

Joonmyeon looked up at Yifan and immediately blushed, staring pointedly back down at his menu. He felt Yifan's gaze on him, their thighs pressed together fairly tight. The other three were completely distracted in their own conversation, and Joonmyeon had no idea what to do. It wasn't like he had any experience in the romance department, after all. 

"Tell me about you, Joonmyeon," Yifan spoke, suddenly and quickly, his voice slightly gravely and his eyes trained on Joonmyeon's face. 

"Uh-uh..." Joonmyeon stuttered nervously, trying to think of something to say, just to not seem boring. Suddenly, he remembered his drug trip from a few days before. Loosen up, he told himself. 

"Um, I'm eighteen, I'm from Oregon. I'm going on this road trip with Jongdae so I can see more of the world before I start college in the fall," Joonmyeon said. 

Just then, the waitress came over and took everyone's orders. As soon as she left though, all of Yifan's attention went straight back to Joonmyeon. 

Joonmyeon looked over at Yifan and he grinned back. "Have you seen anything interesting?" Yifan asked. 

Joonmyeon giggled back. "Yes, actually. Last week Jongdae and I spent the night at one of those hippie communes," he responded. 

"Oh shit, I've always wanted to visit one of those. It's so amazing how connected to nature the people are there; I think everyone should be more like that. Did you take shrooms?" Yifan asked. Joonmyeon nodded shyly. 

Yifan's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Y-yeah..." Joonmyeon stuttered back. 

"Huh. I didn't think you were the type," Yifan spoke. 

Joonmyeon laughed. "I didn't think I was either." 

The waitress came back with everyone food, and everyone began to devour it immediately; they were starving. 

"What did you see?" Yifan asked moments later, still interested in what Joonmyeon had to say.  

Joonmyeon sighed in reminiscence. "I saw all of nature as just like...one big wavy curling ocean. And then I sort of had an epiphany. I realized I needed to let loose a bit more." 

"You're not like who I thought you'd be," Yifan suddenly spoke, slightly serious.

Joonmyeon looked up at him curiously. "W-what do you mean?" 

Yifan shrugged and chuckled. "I don't even really know myself." 

"O-oh," Joonmyeon spoke softly, taking his food. 

"Cute," Yifan mumbled under his breath, and Joonmyeon couldn't stop himself from softly smiling. 

Just then the boys finished their meal, going back into the car. 

"Shotgun!" Baekhyun yelled, pulling up into the passenger seat. 

"Guess you're stuck with me," Yifan said quietly into Joonmyeon's ear, yet another shiver trailing down his spine. Joonmyeon didn't mind being in the back with Yifan at all, even though the road could get bumpy and the back wasn't exactly the safest place to be. But at the first bump in the road that shook their crappy little VW van, Yifan held Joonmyeon's shoulders steady, and Joonmyeon knew he wouldn't mind the rest of the ride at all. 

They spent the rest of the evening, talking with each other and the others and driving along. Night began to fall, casting the barren roads into complete darkness, and there didn't seem to be a hotel for miles. 

Jongdae yawned and sighed. "I'm getting pretty tired guys," he spoke. "And I think Joonmyeon is too. Is it okay if we just pull up on the side and crash? I think we can all find room to sleep in the van." 

The others agreed, searching for space in the car to fall asleep. Joonmyeon curled into a ball to give Yifan more room but it still wasn't quite enough, forcing Yifan's huge body to press fairly close to Joonmyeon's. Joonmyeon bit his lip, not quite knowing how to react to being so close to his newfound crush. 

"Goodnight," Joonmyeon spoke softly, just to Yifan as the others fell asleep. 

"Goodnight," Yifan responded, his voice getting rougher as he grew more tired, making Joonmyeon's heart jump in his chest. "I'm glad we met," he spoke a moment later. "I think you and I were meant to be on this trip together." 

Joonmyeon sucked in a surprise breath at such a bold statement, especially since they'd only just met. But he had to admit, he was feeling it too. 

"Y-yeah," Joonmyeon responded, and fell asleep with a smile on his face. 


	7. Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon and Garfunkel

The Second Week of July, 1969, Illinois

For Joonmyeon, the past week had been a whirlwind of the man named Yifan. Quiet yet strong, sweet yet stoic, he and Joonmyeon had become extremely close in that short amount of time. They spent every second of their time with each other, from talking quietly in the backseat, to Yifan playing music while Joonmyeon drove, to nights pressed up against each other without anyone else on their minds. 

Joonmyeon didn't mind. In fact, he was overjoyed. He was falling for Yifan, hard and fast, and even though he wasn't sure where it would take him, he was just along for the ride. 

One day the sun was shining bright over Missouri, Jongdae speeding down the empty road. Jongdae and Baekhyun were loudly singing along to some song by the Beach Boys that their parents loved, the window turned all the way down so every person within a ten mile radius could hear. Somehow through all of this, Jongin was asleep in front of where Joonmyeon and Yifan sat, and the pair were leaning on each other. 

They couldn't stop laughing at their two friends, Jongdae and Baekhyun jamming out ridiculously. 

"Look!" Jongdae suddenly cried, loud enough to wake up Jongin with a groan. The state border sign loomed in front of them, showing they'd soon be leaving Missouri and heading into Illinois. They all cheered as Jongdae zoomed past the line, indicating that they were in a new state. 

"It's high time we made a stop," Baekhyun sighed. 

"Joonmyeon, are there any towns nearby?" Jongdae asked, yelling into the backseat. Joonmyeon reached over Yifan to grab the map and looked it over. 

"Nothing for miles and miles. I don't even think we'll reach the nearest motel until nighttime," Joonmyeon responded sadly. He was also very ready to stretch his legs. 

"We could just stop on the side of the road. We've got food and stuff, right?" Jongdae asked. The members of the band all looked at each other and shared a sneaky grin. 

"We've got some other stuff too," Jongin said. Yifan looked down at Joonmyeon. 

"Do you smoke?" He asked, rubbing Joonmyeon's shoulder. 

"Cigarettes?" Joonmyeon responded. Yifan chuckled and shook his head. 

"No, pot," he explained with a grin. 

Joonmyeon shrugged. "Never tried it, but I'm not opposed," he responded. "As long as we don't drive for a while." 

"Alright," Yifan responded, and Jongdae stopped the car. They pulled off of the road, and Jongdae and Yifan grabbed their things out of the back. They walked down into the greenery on the side, far enough away to be mostly hidden from traffic. Hidden by the trees, Joonmyeon handed them each a sandwich and Jongin packed the bowl for the pipe. 

Joonmyeon and Jongdae watched in awe as Jongin pulled out a lighter, a bit of fire turning the green marijuana pitch black. Not a bit of smoke escaped until the pipe left Jongin's lips, breathing it out seductively, the smell and smoke already the green surroundings.

"Teach me how," Jongdae decisively spoke as soon as Jongin was finished. Jongin turned to him, pausing for a second before laughing. 

"Put your fingers right here," Jongin instructed, fitting Jongdae's fingers over the holes on the side. "Now suck in while I light it." Jongdae did just as Jongin asked but pulled away, coughing hard. 

"You made it look so easy!" Jongdae whined, reaching for a bottle of water in the food bag. 

"Well, that's what I spent all of high school doing," Jongin responded.

Jongin, Jongdae, and Baekhyun each had their turn, passing the pipe and lighter to Yifan, Yifan smiling as the held the smooth black glass of the pipe in his hands. Joonmyeon watched carefully, examining every bit of the experience: the smell, the look of the weed and pipe, the way Jongdae and his new friend's eyes. Like visiting a commune or trying shrooms, he could never be sure whether he'd do this again or not, so he had to commit each and every moment of it to memory. 

Of course, since Yifan was every bit the stoner stereotype, he knew exactly how to smoke. It made Joonmyeon simoultaneously jealous and aroused to watch Yifan tilt his head up and perfectly breath the smoke at the sky without coughing. 

"Do you want my help?" Yifan asked, looking directly into Joonmyeon's eyes as he passed him the device. Joonmyeon slowly nodded, and Yifan began to do all of the work for him. 

He fitted the end of the pipe in between Joonmyeon's lips, moving Joonmyeon's hands so they were over the strange little holes on the side of the device. Yifan pushed down and a beam of fire flamed from the tip of the lighter. 

"Suck while I light the weed. And it's not like a cigarette, you need to swallow as much as you can to get high," Yifan slowly explained. 

"Are you explaining to him how to suck your dick?" Baekhyun teased, laughing loudly. 

"All that sucking...and swallowing..." Jongin mumbled, lips pulled into a gentle smile, eyes only half open and red. Yifan just kicked Jongin in the balls and lit the end of the pipe, Jongin groaning and clutching his crotch. 

Joonmyeon followed Yifan's instructions as much as he possibly could, but quickly found himself coughing on the smoke, embarrassed that he was so bad at the action when the others had looked so sexy (at least, other than Jongdae). 

But when Yifan mumbled a soft "cute" under his breath, giving Joonmyeon that seductive smile of his, Joonmyeon felt all right again. 

A few minutes later, Joonmyeon knew exactly when the weed hit him. 

His sandwich had been devoured and he was leaning almost his entire body on Yifan, Yifan's arm wrapped around his shoulders. He giggled like a maniac, looking up at Yifan putting his hands over his eyes. 

"My eyes...they're so hot!" He said excitedly. Yifan chuckled down at Joonmyeon, not nearly as affected but still in a state of bliss. 

"You're so cute," Yifan mumbled, carding his hands through Joonmyeon's hair. Joonmyeon giggled loudly but he wasn't as shy about Yifan's flirting as he normally would've been. 

"You two need to kiss," Jongdae mumbled. 

"Hell yeah!" Baekhyun cheered. 

"You guys are fucking inseparable," Jongin added. 

"Whenever Joonmyeon wants me, I'm his," Yifan responded, throwing Joonmyeon a wink. Joonmyeon laughed loudly and was about to think of a flirtatious response, when the sudden sound of sirens threw the boys into a state of panic. 

"Fucking hell," Yifan growled, and they tried to hide their illicit drugs when a group of police officers stomped over to them. At their head was a surprinsingly short guy with big round eyes, but despite his cute appearance he looked angry as all hell. 

"Hey there cutie," Jongin spoke to the police officer, loosing all sense of society's rules in his drugged out state. The police officer choked on air before calming himself down and giving the boys an incredulous look. 

"You are all under arrest for obvious marijuana possession! Not even trying to hide it too," the police officer grumbled. 

"But sir-" Jongdae protested. 

"Not buts! Come with me," he spoke angrily. His companions shoved Baekhyun and Jongdae into one car, taking Joonmyeon, Yifan, and Jongin with the head police officer. A third officer got into Jongdae's VW and drove it to the nearby police station as well. 

"Those damn hippies," the head officer grumbled under his breath as he began to drive the police car. "Thinking they can get away with anything." 

"What's your name?" Jongin asked, as if they hadn't just been fucking arrested. 

"I am officer Do Kyungsoo, thank you very much," the head police officer responded. 

"I'm Jongin," Jongin responded. 

"I didn't ask," Kyungsoo growled back. 

In the backseat, Joonmyeon was whimpering loudly and clinging onto Yifan's shirt. 

"Oh my gosh we're gonna get in so much trouble. What if they call my parents?" Joonmyeon whined into Yifan's chest, not caring that he looked so fearful in front of his crush at the moment. Yifan knew better than to say anything, knowing it would just make Joonmyeon feel worse. Instead, he simply ran his fingers through Joonmyeon's hair and held him tight. 

They reached the station fairly quickly, corraling the group of five through to the front. Sitting them down, they asked a bunch of questions like their names and where they were from. 

"Where are we going to put them while we figure out what to do with them?" An officer asked Kyungsoo. Joonmyeon was relieved to notice that the police station was quite dingey, probably they couldn't do much with the group. 

"Throw the damn hippies in the brig!" Kyungsoo yelled, and Joonmyeon became afraid once again. They, again, were corralled into a fairly small cell in the station, getting locked behind them. Joonmyeon whimpered and Yifan continued to hold him, while the others just seemed unbothered. 

Kyungsoo passed them and shook his head in dissappointment. "Today's youth," he grumbled. 

"You can't be older than, uh, twenty three," Baekhyun responded. 

"Shut up," Kyungsoo responded, and left the group alone. 


	8. Girl From the North Country by Bob Dylan

The officers had kept them in the cell overnight, but Joonmyeon was unable to sleep. Apparently, since he was eighteen they didn't need to call his parents (as they had told him, looking at Joonmyeon like he was pathetic, which he most definitely was). But Joonmyeon was still worried: would this go on his permanent record? Would he be barred from entering college? 

The five boys all slept on makeshift cots on the floor of the cell, and Joonmyeon was extremely uncomfortable. It was freezing, the beds were hard, and both Jongdae and Jongin had a snoring problem. Joonmyeon whimpered softly and tried to cover his head with a pillow. 

Yifan suddenly sleepily grumbled and Joonmyeon immediately felt his heart sink, embarrassed that he had woken up his crush. It didn't help that he'd looked so pathetic and cowardly throughout this entire process. 

"Hey...are you okay?" Yifan asked quietly, looking over at Joonmyeon's frightened face. Joonmyeon was too tired to put up a good face and shook his head no. Yifan sighed, rubbing Joonmyeon's back softly. 

"It's okay to be afraid," he said, chuckling sadly. "Actually, it's kind of sad that the rest of us aren't scared. But you know, I'll be honest with you, this isn't the first time I've been in this situation."

"Really?" Joonmyeon interrupted with wide eyes. 

Yifan chuckled. "I really, really like smoking pot out in the open where cops can catch me," he responded. "Anyways, I've been here before. The officers don't really care that much, we didn't have much on us, we're not underaged, and we're not from this state. We're gonna be fine." 

Joonmyeon nodded, feeling slightly relieved. He was still really freaked, but Yifan's words helped a tiny bit. 

"I know what I say isn't gonna help much. So here," Yifan said, suddenly pulling Joonmyeon on top of him. Joonmyeon was grateful that it was dark so that Yifan couldn't see his blushing face. "Sleep here. It'll be warmer; I could literally feel you shivering before." 

Joonmyeon hid his face from Yifan, mumbling a very soft 'thank you.' Yifan chuckled and ruffled Joonmyeon's hair. 

"Now try and get some sleep, alright? I know that'll make you feel better." 

Joonmyeon nodded softly. His eyes were already shutting against his will, and he soon fell into a deep sleep. 

~~~~~~~~~~

The next day, Joonmyeon awoke to loud teasing from his friends about him falling asleep on top of Yifan. They seemed grossed out, saying that the two boys had sex right there in almost the same bed as them, and both Joonmyeon and Yifan's insistence of otherwise didn't seem to change their minds. 

The guards had given them a very gross breakfast of biscuits and gravy in the morning and left them to their own devices. At around noon, they were given a lunch of biscuits and gravy again, but were let out onto the grounds for an hour or two. 

"You better not try to escape!" Kyungsoo, the mean officer, yelled after them. "Or your punishment will be even worse." 

Kyungsoo sat and glowered at the group of five the entire time, muttering 'those damn hippies' under his breath so often. They occasionally looked over at him, but otherwise stuck to themselves. 

"He's kinda cute," Jongin spoke quietly to the others. 

"The officer?" Baekhyun asked. 

"Yeah," Jongin responded. "I'm gonna go talk to him." 

"You're gonna make things worse!" Baekhyun whined loudly. 

"No way, a little flirting won't hurt anything," Jongin responded, standing up and sauntering over the officer while every single one of his friends facepalmed. 

"Hey Kyungsoo," Jongin spoke as he leaned against the brick wall next to Kyungsoo's chair. 

"That's Officer Kyungsoo to you," he responded, not looking up at him. 

Jongin was silent for a moment before speaking. "What do you want to do with your life?" He asked softly 

"What?" Kyungsoo asked in shock. "What kind of question is that?"

"Just a question," Jongin casually responded. 

Kyungsoo sighed loudly. "I want to be a police officer. And I am one. End of story," he said. 

"Oh okay...so you want to bring justice to those who deserve it? Like those who hurt people?" Jongin asked for clarification. 

"I guess," Kyungsoo repsonded with a shrug. 

"You don't sound too dead set..." Jongin said. 

Kyungsoo sighed again. "Everyone said I should be a police officer. So I became a police officer. And it works fine for me."

"Oh," Jongin softly responded, his tone sort of sad. He paused again before talking. "You know what I want to do with my life?"

"What?" Kyungsoo asked, rolling his eyes. 

"I want to live how I think we were meant to live," he responded. "You know?"

Kyungsoo finally looked at him, sort of intrigued now. "What do you mean?" 

Jongin smiled down at him. "I don't think our purpose as people is to just work for the man and then die. I think purpose is to appreciate the earth and try and make other people happy in the ways we best can. Just...there's so much beauty out there, and I want to see and experience all of it."

Kyungsoo scoffed. "What beauty? The world is an ugly place, that's for damn sure," he responded. 

Jongin slowly shook his head. "No way, man. There is beauty. Hell, drive five miles from here and you'll find pretty forests that look like they're from fantasy books. There's beauty in meeting all these new people from all around the world, there's beauty in just sitting around with a group of friends, playing music and laughing and dancing. It's everywhere." 

Kyungsoo looked away from Jongin. "That just sounds like some hippie bullshit," he mumbled but his voice quavered, and there was no conviction behind his words. 

Jongin chuckled. "I promise you, it isn't. Now, tell me some of your funniest cop stories." 

Kyungsoo couldn't stop himself from smiling, proceeding to tell all of his craziest and most hilarious stories. The other four guys watched from a distance as the pair talked, Kyungsoo smiling and even laughing at one point. 

"What kind of magic did Jongin work on that guy?" Jongdae whispered to Baekhyun. 

Baekhyun shrugged and stared at Jongin and Kyungsoo, beyond confused. "I dunno...he's usually pretty shy," Baekhyun whispered back. 

"He must really like this guy," Yifan muttered, and everyone else nodded in agreement. 

The five were supposed to go back to their cell after an hour or two, but Kyungsoo became so distracted by Jongin that they talked for hours and hours, until the sun was beginning to set into the sky. None of them were complaining, in fact Joonmyeon, Baekhyun, Yifan, and Jongdae were happy to be outside. And even Jongin seemed to be enjoying himself, and they knew this wasn't just some tactic to get them all out of there faster. 

"Sh-shit," Kyungsoo suddenly stuttered, interrupting Jongin and standing up. "B-boys! Time to go back to the cell! Now!" He ordered, trying to keep on his tough exterior but definitely looked flustered at entirely forgetting his job. He glared at Jongin, but there was no real weight behind it, as he lead the boys back to their cell. 

They were quickly brought dinner, luckily a much nicer dinner than before, and got tired quickly from being out under the hot sun all day. In much the same position as before, but with less heavy hearts (seeing as how Jongin made them realize that Kyungsoo was an actual person, not just a monster), they all fell asleep quickly. 

Early the next morning, Joonmyeon was awakened for brief moment when he noticed Jongin being lead out of the cell, but fell back asleep quickly on top of Yifan's chest. 

By the time Jongin came back, everyone was fully awake, wondering where he had been. He was let back in wearing hickies on his neck and a shit eating grin. 

"What the fuck?" Baekhyun asked. Jongin just raised his eyebrows and grinned harder. Suddenly, Officer Kyungsoo appeared outside their cell with puffy lips and a giant scarf around his neck. Everyone looked between them with huge, confused eyes. 

"U-uh...you guys can go! I'm letting you off the hook," Kyungsoo announced, seeming extremely flustered. Jongin threw him a wink and he pointedly stared at the floor, ushering the whole group out. 

In a state of confusion, the five of them walked to the parking lot, wondering what the hell was happening. 

"You better explain everything," Yifan muttered angrily, gripping Jongin's arm. 

"I will, I will," Jongin responded softly. But just as the boys were about to get inside the VW, they spotted Kyungsoo's figure running into the parking lot. 

"Jongin!" Kyungsoo cried. Jongin looked confused for a moment before running back over to Kyungsoo. 

"O-one day...you've got to show me all this beauty you talk about," Kyungsoo stuttered shyly. 

"I will baby, I will," Jongin responded, looking down at Kyungsoo with affection in his eyes. 

"Come back for me, please," Kyungsoo begged, finally looking up at Jongin. "Promise?" 

"I promise," Jongin responded, suddenly squeezing Kyungsoo's tiny frame in a tight hug. Kyungsoo hugged him back, burying his face in Jongin's shoulder before they simoultaneously pulled away. Jongin waved goodbye and began his walk back to the VW. 

"Come back for me!" Kyungsoo shouted as Jongin stepped into the VW. Jongdae pushed the pedal on the gas and began to drive away. 

"I promise I will!" Jongin yelled to Kyungsoo through the open window, watching his tiny figure disappear in the Illinois landscape. 


	9. Suzanne by Leonard Cohen

The Third Week of July, Indiana, 1969

After finally getting out of that prison, the boys decided to treat themselves to a night at a hotel room, instead of all cramming into the back of the VW like usual. When deciding on rooms, Yifan had insisted Joonmyeon stay with him (not that Joonmyeon was complaining). Joonmyeon agreed happily and the pair went up to their room as soon as they arrived at the seedy motel. 

As soon as they got up there though, a sort of awkwardness swept over them. To save on money, they'd decided to share a bed, but Joonmyeon was starting to regret that decision now. Yifan kept staring at him uncomfortably, and Joonmyeon didn't quite know how to feel. 

Once he was ready for bed, Joonmyeon crawled into the bed and was about to shut off the light when Yifan grabbed onto his arm. 

"J-Joonmyeon," Yifan stuttered, looking over Joonmyeon's small frame. Nerves filling his heart, Joonmyeon didn't have any idea what was going on until Yifan leaned in to kiss him. 

Yifan started slow and sensually, his large hands trailing along Joonmyeon's waist as he gently pressed Joonmyeon onto his back. Joonmyeon laid down, happily giving into Yifan as he wrapped his arms around his back. Yifan quickly licked his way into Joonmyeon's mouth, and Joonmyeon let him in, their tongues sliding together leisurely, as if they had all the time in the world. 

Joonmyeon scooted backwards so they would have more room on the large hotel bed. Yifan followed immediately, not wanting to be parted even for a second from his newfound love, and climbed back on top of him. Even though Yifan was much bigger and heavier than Joonmyeon he felt so safe and protected within his big arms. Joonmyeon didn't doubt for a second that Yifan would be gentle with him and not push him into anything he wasn't ready for. 

Yifan kissed Joonmyeon harder now, his hands moving faster on Joonmyeon. It made Joonmyeon feel hot everywhere and as his heart beat faster he knew he needed more. Yifan's hands slipped underneath Joonmyeon's t-shirt and Joonmyeon was incredibly grateful for the feeling of skin on skin that he was so desperately craving. He reached underneath Yifan's shirt to trace along his abs, impressed by his toned muscles. Yifan's moved off of Joonmyeon's lips and he almost whined out loud but Yifan kissed along his jawline onto his neck and it left Joonmyeon's chest rapidly rising and falling. Yifan looked over at him and smirked. 

"What?" Joonmyeon mumbled. Yifan's eyes darted to Joonmyeon crotch, his half hardness starting to poke through his jeans. 

"I've barely touched you; you want me so bad already?" Yifan teased. Joonmyeon just nodded. 

"Yeah," he responded. His answer was so sincere and needy that Yifan couldn't hold back a low groan, moving back to Joonmyeon's neck, wanting to mark this pretty, needy boy as his. He could barely even believe it, that he was the only one allowed to make marks on Joonmyeon's neck, to leave him gripping at his bedsheets, to make him look so destroyed and beautiful. 

When Yifan finished his handiwork, checking out the purple bruise on Joonmyeon's neck, he saw Joonmyeon watching him with those lidded eyes and swollen lips. Clearly he'd been biting them, and it made Yifan angry to know that Joonmyeon was holding back his noises of pleasure. He wanted to hear Joonmyeon moan for him. 

"Stop holding back," Yifan mumbled, dark and low as he unbuttoned Joonmyeon's shirt. "I wanna hear you." Joonmyeon swallowed thickly and nodded, watching Yifan's big hands unbutton his shirt until it fell open. Joonmyeon blushed hard and turned away from Yifan. 

"Are you shy?" Yifan mumbled, kissing Joonmyeon's cheek as he pulled off his own shirt. Joonmyeon blushed harder as he looked over Yifan, unable to tear his eyes away. 

Joonmyeon nodded at Yifan's question. "No one's ever really seen me like this before. I-I'm a virgin," Joonmyeon responded. 

Yifan hummed. "I feel quite privileged, then. To be your first," he said softly, kissing Joonmyeon as he pressed their bare chests together. It sent a shiver down Joonmyeon's spine and he released a small noise into Yifan's mouth. The noise made Yifan's cock ache and he couldn't hold back any longer, his hand reaching over to rub the outline of Joonmyeon's cock in his pants. Joonmyeon pulled back and whimpered with arousal. 

So he really was a virgin, Yifan thought. 

He pressed his hand down harder, pulling away to watch Joonmyeon become more and more aroused. It was a beautiful sight, really, and it made Yifan feel like the hotel room was transported to the middle of the desert. He was hot, too hot, and he needed less clothes on. He, at least, was ready. 

"Are you ready for this?" Yifan asked, pausing his hand but not moving it away. Before he went further he had to make sure Joonmyeon would be okay. 

"Yeah," Joonmyeon responded. 

"Are you sure? I will try to make it as comfortable as possible but it will hurt," Yifan said. 

"I know," Joonmyeon said back. "I trust you." 

"You can tell me to stop whenever you want. I promise I will."

"I know," Joonmyeon repeated. "I love you."

Yifan smiled softly and kissed Joonmyeon once again. Yifan could see that Joonmyeon really was ready, and that this first time really would be special for him. That was all Yifan had ever wanted for him, and his heart bloomed in his chest. 

He started stroking the outline of Joonmyeon's erection again, trying to make sure he was aroused before they did anything. He could tell Joonmyeon didn't quite know what to do with his hands but it was okay; seeing him turned on was enough for Yifan. But having his cock trapped in his jeans was starting to hurt and he needed to be free, so he unbuttoned his jeans and pushed them down, along with his boxers. His length sprung up and Joonmyeon watched with both fear and arousal on his face. 

"What's wrong?" Yifan asked, slowly taking off Joonmyeon's tight jeans. 

"I don't think it'll fit," Joonmyeon responded as his cock was freed as well. He immediately covered it up with his hands, however. 

"Are you saying I'm big?" Yifan asked with a proud smirk on his face. 

"Yeah," Joonmyeon responded, chuckling cutely. "I kind of feel embarrassed about my dick now." Yifan pouted and kissed his cheek, hovering back over Joonmyeon as he kicked his pants to the floor. 

"Don't be baby. You never have to be embarrassed. Your body is beautiful, I promise," Yifan said quietly. Joonmyeon released the hold over his dick but kissed Yifan passionately, forcing Yifan to shut his eyes. But Joonmyeon pulled away quickly when Yifan starting stroking him, no fabric between them anymore more. 

"F-feels good," Joonmyeon panted out, glazed eyes shifting between Yifan's face and his own erection.Yifan opened his eyes too, watching Joonmyeon's expressions of arousal. His eyes then raked over Joonmyeon's completely naked body, drinking in the sight. 

"So beautiful," he mumbled, kissing Joonmyeon's neck and pulling away to grab his jeans. 

"You're...you're quite handsome too," Joonmyeon shyly responded as Yifan pulled a tube of lube and a condom out of his back pocket. 

"Can you lift up your legs for me?" He asked gently. Joonmyeon did as he asked but blushed hard, looking away from him. 

"I feel so exposed," he mumbled as Yifan squeezed some lube onto his fingers and rubbed it around to get it warm. 

"If you want to change positions we can," Yifan responded, climbing back on top of Joonmyeon and kissing his chest. 

"I-I don't mind so much," Joonmyeon responded, Yifan stroking him as he circled Joonmyeon's hole with his fingers slowly. Joonmyeon bit his lip hard, his hands subtely gripping his sheets. Yifan slowly slid in one finger, letting Joonmyeon adjust. Joonmyeon grimaced and Yifan stopped moving, kissing his chest and brushing his hair out of his eyes. 

"Does it hurt?" Yifan asked. 

"A bit. But it feels good too, in a weird way," Joonmyeon answered. "You can move too." Yifan started sliding his finger in and out, slicking up Joonmyeon's tight, virgin hole with his thick fingers. Joonmyeon's slightly pained expression quickly gave way to one of deep pleasure and Yifan smiled. He added another, and this time Joonmyeon's face only scrunched up for a little bit before enjoying the sensation. 

"You seem...experienced," Joonmyeon said, clearly distracted. 

"I am," Yifan simply responded, interlacing his free hand with Joonmyeon's as he scissored his fingers inside of him. 

"How many people have you, um..." Joonmyeon asked shyly, squeezing Yifan's big hand with his own tiny one. 

"You don't wanna know," Yifan responded as he spread Joonmyeon open. 

"Oh," Joonmyeon said, blinking up at Yifan. 

"But you're the first person I'm having sex with where it's meant something," Yifan admitted. Joonmyeon looked back at him wide eyed before his face broke into a smile. 

"Really?" 

"Yes baby," Yifan responded, adding a third finger. Yifan thrusted his fingers into Joonmyeon a few more times. 

"Ready?" He asked. Joonmyeon nodded as Yifan pulled his fingers out, leaving Joonmyeon feeling strangely empty. Yifan stroked Joonmyeon a few more times before pumping his own cock with a lube covered hand. He climbed back over Joonmyeon, lining himself up with Joonmyeon. He smiled down at him, kissing him quickly on the lips before slowly pushing inside. 

Yifan groaned deeply, panting because god was Joonmyeon tight and warm, and it had been a while since he'd had sex. He stayed absolutely still, partially because Joonmyeon looked like he was in pain and partially because if he moved, he would just come right then and there. Joonmyeon blinked up at Yifan, his eyebrows scrunched together and Yifan's heart was pierced. He kissed all over Joonmyeon's face, gently rubbing his waist. 

"Just relax, it'll hurt less soon I promise. Try to relax," he mumbled softly. He felt Joonmyeon try to breath slower, his body slowly becoming less tense. Yifan watched as his pained expression soon changed into one of pleasure. 

"Move," he said quietly, and that was all Yifan needed to hear. He took his time, slowly pressing inside until he reached the base of his cock before pulling back out again. The pace was tortorous; Yifan wanted to pound into Joonmyeon's little body hard but he was almost afraid he would break him. He had to take his time, for Joonmyeon's sake. Later on he could be a little more rough. 

"C-can you go faster?" Joonmyeon asked, his hands gripping Yifan's shoulder. 

"Oh thank god," Yifan muttered in response, thrusting in and out a little bit faster but gaining speed. 

Joonmyeon began to make little noises, whimpers and quiet moans that drove Yifan insane. All Yifan wanted to do was kiss him but then Joonmyeon would have to be quiet, and no way could he let that happen. So he settled for kissing his neck and leaving yet another love bite to match the ones already littering Joonmyeon's pretty neck. 

"Yifan!" Joonmyeon cried loudly, arching his back. Yifan smirked and changed his angle, repeatedly pressing into that spot inside Joonmyeon. 

"Ah! Wh-what is that?" Joonmyeon asked, gripping the sheets in ecstasy as Yifan pushed into him over and over and over again. 

"Prostate," Yifan muttered in between heavy breaths. "Like the male g-spot," he distractedly explained. 

"F-fuck," Joonmyeon drawled. 

"Wanna come?" Yifan asked. He knew he couldn't last much longer but he wanted Joonmyeon to come before him. 

"Please," Joonmyeon moaned, arching his back yet again. Yifan reached between their sheened bodies to stroke Joonmyeon's hardness, red at the tip and leaking with precum. It only took a few strokes before Joonmyeon was coming all over his stomach, white streaks landing everywhere as his body trembled with the weight of his climax. Joonmyeon's pretty face and the unconscious clenching of his hole pushed Yifan over the edge as well, coming hard into Joonmyeon. 

Joonmyeon laid down, spread out on his bed, tiredly blinking up at Yifan as he pushed in just a few more times to ride out his orgasm. He pulled out straight afterward, Joonmyeon grimacing, but he pecked Joonmyeon's lips and he smiled once again. 

"Where's the trash can?" Yifan mumbled tiredly, tying up the end of the condom. Joonmyeon sleepily pointed to a spot next to the bed and Yifan threw the condom inside. 

Joonmyeon panted as he came down from his climax, looking over at Yifan. Yifan grinned widely at him and cupped his cheek. 

"I like you, Joonmyeon. I really like you. I mean it, I swear I wasn't just using to have sex, god, I like you so damn much," Yifan said, tumbling over his words out sincerity. 

Joonmyeon's expression slowly bloomed into a grin. "I like you too. So much," Joonmyeon admitted, and gave Yifan a small but meaningful kiss. 

"We should shower," Joonmyeon said quietly as Yifan flopped down beside him. 

"No fucking way," Yifan responded. "We need to sleep." 

"Sounds like a plan," Joonmyeon said, curling up in Yifan's arms. 

"How was it?" Yifan quietly asked. 

"Wonderful," Joonmyeon responded softly. "And for you?"

"Best I've ever had," Yifan said, and they fell into a beautiful sleep. 


	10. The Dangling Conversation by Simon and Garfunkel

The Fourth Week of July, West Virginia, 1969

Days had passed since Yifan and Joonmyeon's fateful confession, and things could not have been going better. Yes, Jongdae, Baekhyun, and Jongin were getting annoyed because of Yifan and Joonmyeon's constant PDA and lovey dovey-ness (as well as sex when they were all trying to sleep), but they couldn't be too upset. Both of them knew that Yifan and Joonmyeon badly needed each other, and this relationship. It was clear they were falling in love, and none of them wanted to get in the way of that. 

One afternoon, when Yifan and Joonmyeon were sitting in their usual backseat, Joonmyeon was beginning to fall asleep. He was leaning on Yifan's shoulder, his eyes fluttering shut then bursting open every couple of seconds. His breaths were soft and so was his skin, still pale despite all of their time in the sun. The sunlight filtered through his hair and lashes, giving him a heavenly glow, and he smelled like Yifan. Yifan couldn't think of a sight more beautiful than the perfection that was Joonmyeon. 

They'd been traveling together for the past month and living as a couple for the past week, and Yifan could not imagine a better time in his life. He'd had flings before but nothing, god, nothing had ever been like this. He was hopeless, he was head over heels, he was every storybook romance and more. 

He was in love. Yifan sighed at the revelation. He was falling in love with everything that Joonmyeon was: from his beautiful little body to the delicate features of his face to that mind, oh that brilliant mind that had taught Yifan so much. Joonmyeon had given Yifan everything and Yifan still couldn't reconcile it with himself, that he deserved everything that Joonmyeon was. 

As Joonmyeon's fingers sleepily curled in Yifan's much larger hand, a thought Yifan had pushed to the corners of his own mind came to the forefront. His heart beat harder in his chest and he felt his stomach lurch and his soft smile turn into a frown. 

What was going to happen? 

What was going to happen, once all of this summer fun and roadtripping was over? Yifan knew Joonmyeon wanted to go to college, and he wanted to stay with his band. But at this point, he didn't think he could even live without Joonmyeon. It was part of his life's purpose to always be there for Joonmyeon, to take care of Joonmyeon, to make sure Joonmyeon always felt loved and adored. Joonmyeon had given Yifan every piece of himself, and Yifan had to give himself over in return. 

Yifan didn't want to bring it up, but he knew he had to. If he didn't, the thoughts of leaving would just creep up on him, slowly but surely, until it was time to part. He could just imagine it: they would promise to call, they wouldn't, and Yifan would lose the one thing in his life that mattered to him more than even music. Hell, he hadn't even thought that was possible before he met Joonmyeon. 

Yifan was already feeling anxious just thinking about talking about the future with Joonmyeon, so he calmed himself down by thinking of their nights together. Of Yifan's eyes shut, under complete darkness, other than the light of the moon and the stars filtering in through the dirty windows. Of the taste of Joonmyeon's tongue and toothpaste still on his lips. Of the scent of Joonmyeon's dark hair against his nose, tickling him but not uncomfortably, smelling like trees and books and Yifan himself. Of Joonmyeon's breaths, slowing down down down until he was at peace, of the crickets just outside, of the wind through the trees and maybe the trickle of a stream somewhere nearby. But mostly, he thought of the feelings. Of Joonmyeon's backside pressed against him, little spoon to Yifan's big. Of their legs tangled together, unable to be separated. Of Joonmyeon's tiny, soft hands still holding onto Yifan's, even in his sleep. Of Joonmyeon's feet, cold, seeking warmth from Yifan's legs, and even though they felt like little ice cubes Yifan would still let him do it. Of the way Joonmyeon mumbled 'good night' right when he was about to pass out. Of the way he could feel Joonmyeon smile when Yifan responded and called him 'baby'. 

But now, it was time. Yifan inhaled, Yifan sighed, then he nervously turned to Joonmyeon. 

"What's going to happen after Woodstock?" He asked. 

"What?" Joonmyeon responded, shaking his head groggily. He rubbed his eyes, having just been moments away from a nap. 

"What's going to happen after Woodstock? Once all of this ends?" Yifan asked softly. 

Joonmyeon hummed and shrugged. "I've got to go to college. There's nothing I can do about that; it's my dream," he responded. 

Yifan sighed sadly and his head hung low. "W-well...I want to make my band successful. I want to tour the world, you know?" He said, turning to Joonmyeon. "But I want you by my side too. I don't wanna even think about being away from you." 

Joonmyeon furrowed his eyebrows. "I can't not go to college," he spoke curtly. "You want me to just follow you?" He asked, glaring up at Yifan. 

"N-no, Joonmyeon, that's not what I meant," Yifan responded with a sigh. "I mean, I'll support you in your dream. I mean, I don't know anyone who dreams of supporting the establishment, but I don't want you giving up your thing. You can spend your life working for the man and I'll still care about you." 

Joonmyeon laughed, but it came out forced and angry. "Wow. You really think what I want is silly, huh? I mean, it's not my fault you're lazy and bad at school, so don't shit on me when it's really your problem." 

"In what fucking way am I lazy?" Yifan asked. 

"You told me yourself that you spent all of high school having sex and smoking pot. Yifan, it doesn't matter what you're doing, whether that be school or your stupid band or whatever. If you waste all your time and just be lazy, you'll never be successful." 

"So you don't think I'm going to be successful?" Yifan asked, his voice almost at a yell. Jongin was able to sleep through it, but Jongdae and Baekhyun just grimaced from the front seat and pretended nothing was happening. 

"I don't," Joonmyeon simply, quietly responded, crossing his arms and turning away from Yifan. 

Yifan returned that angry chuckle Joonmyeon had given him earlier. "Well at least my life is going to have meaning. At least my life will have purpose! At least I won't be some sad, unhappy old man, sitting at a desk doing meaningless shit and thinking he's better than everyone else like you will be in ten or twenty years." 

Joonmyeon was silent for a long time before he began to slowly shake his head back and forth. 

"You don’t know me; you don’t fucking know me," he began to mutter under his breath. Yifan sucked in a breath and realized the weight of both of their words. Guilt washed over him and he reached for Joonmyeon's arm, clutching it gently, but Joonmyeon ignored his touch. 

"Joonmyeon--" Yifan stuttered. 

"You know what?" Joonmyeon interrupted, shoving Yifan's arm off of him. "Get out. Get out of my fucking car." Joonmyeon glared up at him and Yifan was terrified; he couldn't lose Joonmyeon now. 

"Wait no, what?" Yifan asked softly, confused and scared and hopeless. 

"Get out!" Joonmyeon screamed at Yifan. 

"Baby, no, this is just a little argument, we can work this out--" Yifan started, pleading with Joonmyeon. 

"Get. Out." Joonmyeon interrupted again, his voice firm. 

"Please, Joonmyeon, god, I love you," Yifan spoke, tears beggining to leak from the corners of his eyes as he cupped Joonmyeon's cheek and rubbed in circles. Joonmyeon inhaled and exhaled haggardly, staying absolutely still for a moment before shoving Yifan's hand off of him again. 

"Get out, and take your stupid band with you," Joonmyeon said. "Stop the car!" He yelled up to Jongdae, and immediately Jongdae pulled over. Joonmyeon got out of the car and opened the trunk, throwing all of Yifan and Baekhyun and Jongin's things outside. He slammed the trunk shut, stomping over to the front seat. By then, Baekhyun and Jongin had rushed out of the VW to gather their things and yell at Joonmyeon in confusion. Yifan simply cried, his face in his palms, sitting down pathetically on the side of the road. 

Joonmyeon opened the passenger door and got inside, slamming the car door behind him. 

"Drive," he ordered Jongdae. 

"Joonmyeon, what the fuck is--" Jongdae started. 

"Just drive," Joonmyeon repeated. Jongdae had never seen Joonmyeon so upset before so he did as he asked, watching the three band members fade into the distance as they drove forward. Joonmyeon didn't move a muscle, his arms crossed as he stared out the front window, as if in a daze. 


	11. Helplessly Hoping by Crosby, Stills, and Nash

The First Week of August, Washington DC, 1969

"Joonmyeon. I understood the sobbing on the first day, I tolerated the sobbing on the second day, but I can't do it any more! Oh my god! You've been crying for three days straight!" Jongdae yelled to his best friend as the pair were pulled over on the side of the highway on their way to the US capital. 

"B-but," Joonmyeon blubbered, his face in his palms. "I love him." 

Jongdae rolled his eyes. "You were the one who broke up with him!"

"He didn't respect my dreams," Joonmyeon choked out. "He said he loved me, but he didn't love me. I loved him." 

Jongdae groaned. He didn't feel like giving Joonmyeon this lecture again, as he'd given it at least ten times over the past few days since Yifan and Joonmyeon's break up. But he was going to do it anyways. Maybe this time he would actually listen.   
"Joonmyeon, yes, I know he said some mean things. But you did too! You called him lazy and you didn't respect his dreams either. I know for a fact that neither of you meant what you said, so this whole thing is just so ridiculous! You two love each other!" 

"I-I gave him everything," Joonmyeon replied, and Jongdae rolled his eyes. Clearly, Jongdae's words had in one of Joonmyeon's ears and out the other. "I gave him my virginity," Joonmyeon quietly added. 

Jongdae freezed. Oh. He didn't know that. Being entirely honest, Jongdae didn't think Joonmyeon wouldn't have sex until marriage, so he was surprised. Yifan must have meant a hell of a lot to him. 

Jongdae sighed and sympathetically rubbed Joonmyeon's back. Yes, he was frustrated because Joonmyeon wasn't accepting any of the blame for his situation, but Jongdae knew he'd been broken to his very core. 

"I-I'm sorry," Joonmyeon choked out. "I must be pretty annoying." 

"You are," Jongdae quickly responded. "But it's fine." 

Joonmyeon sniffled and rubbed his red eyes and nose, looking at Jongdae. "Y-you can keep driving. Maybe going somewhere will...distract me. A-at least getting out of this car will. Just, everything smells like him--" 

"Do you even know where we're going?" Jongdae asked, trying to stop Joonmyeon from thinking about Yifan too much and going off and crying for another three days. 

Joonmyeon looked up at Jongdae shamefully, shaking his head and looked down at the stick shift. 

Jongdae chuckled. "We're almost at Washington DC," he responded. 

"Really?" Joonmyeon asked in surprise, looking up at Jongdae. He chuckled and nodded. 

"You haven't noticed all the signs along the road?" 

Joonmyeon repeated that shameful head shake, and now Jongdae outright laughed. 

"He's really got you, hasn't he?" Jongdae asked. Joonmyeon looked down at his lap and played with his fingers. Jongdae ruffled Joonmyeon's hair as the traffic began to get thicker and thicker around them, leading up into the city. 

"I promise, you'll feel a lot better soon. We have an entire city to explore!" Jongdae spoke, and for a minute Joonmyeon perked up. But then, the two of them looked around at how thick the traffic was becoming around them and let out a loud groan. 

"What the hell is going on?" Jongdae yelled, slumping against the seat as the car slowed down. 

"Hm, I mean it is a city, there's bound to be more traffic." 

"This...this is a lot though," Jongdae responded, rolling his eyes as they slowly pushed forward. 

They didn't reach downtown for at least two hours, both of them frustrated and annoyed beyond words when they finally discovered the source of their annoyance. 

A large body of people walking and cheering down the streets was blocking most of the roads. Some looked like hippies but others just looked like regular people, holding big signs with aggressive looking police flanking either side of their path. 

"Shit," Jongdae groaned. 

"There's no way we're driving through that," Joonmyeon added. Cars started honking behind them and the pair began to panic. 

"I'm just gonna park the car. We'll find a motel on foot and pick it up tomorrow before we leave," Jongdae spoke. Joonmyeon nodded. Looking around, it seemed to be their only option. 

They parked and got out. Even at the parking spot a few blocks down the street, people were still packed on the streets. Joonmyeon and Jongdae looked at the people, unable to understand their shouting, before looking up at their signs. They all had anti-war slogans on them, particularly concerning the Vietnam war. 

"Let's join," Jongdae suddenly said. 

"Wh-what? It could be dangerous!" Joonmyeon cried. 

"Come on. You've tripped on psychadelic mushrooms, you've been to jail, you've had sex with a band member you met through hitchhiking. There isn't much more dangerous than those."

Joonmyeon sighed. Jongdae was definitely right. Plus, who knew the next time he'd participate in a protest actually at the nation's capital? This was the opportunity of a lifetime. 

"Alright. Let's go," Joonmyeon responded, and Jongdae shot him a smile. 

"I'm loving this new adventurous Joonmyeon," Jongdae commented as they pushed themselves into the throngs of people. 

"Anything to forget Yifan," Joonmyeon responded. Jongdae swallowed a lump of sadness for his friend in his throat and walked quickly. 

Jongdae and Joonmyeon were quickly overwhelmed by everything: the sheer amount of people, the police pushing on either side, the quivering, rising tension, the passion ringing clear and loud through the streets. Jongdae and Joonmyeon turned to give each other small smiles. They'd never felt like they were a part of something so big, so important before. 

"Hey kids," a voice spoke, and Jongdae and Joonmyeon turned around to find its source. Standing behind them were two boys, maybe a couple years older than them. Both were too tall (at least, in Jongdae and Joonmyeon's short person opinions) and very attractive. Their hands were occupied: each held homemade signs with the phrase 'make love, not war', and their other hands were intertwined. 

The shorter of the two (although both were gigantic in Joonmyeon's opinion) was pale to the point of being white, his dark hair contrasting against his skin. His eyebrows were intense, to say the least, and he somehow just looked...bored. The taller of them had darker skin, with sharp, almost feline features. He also seemed quite aggressive. All in all, they were an extremely attractive and intimidating pair. 

Jongdae and Joonmyeon shared a look before turning back to them. 

"Hey," Jongdae spoke. "What's up?"

"You guys just looked a little lost," the cat like one responded, and Joonmyeon couldn't tell if he was being condescending or not. 

"Well, there was just a lot of traffic and we saw this was going on, so we decided to join!" Jongdae asked. The pair smiled at Jongdae and Joonmyeon, and it seemed a lot more sincere. 

"I'm so glad you could come out and protest with us. I'm sure neither of you want to get drafted, right?" the cat like one asked again. Jongdae and Joonmyeon shook their heads. 

"Exactly," he responded. 

"Well, he's Joonmyeon and I'm Jongdae. What are your names?" Jongdae asked. 

"I'm Zitao," the cat like one responded. "And this is my boyfriend, Sehun." The other one waved, his expression remaining completely neutral. 

Joonmyeon and Jongdae raised their brows in surprise. Both of them were gay, but it was pretty uncommon to just introduce yourself as gay unless you were absolutely sure that you wouldn't get attacked. 

"Do you mind?" The one named Sehun asked, again, in a condescending voice. 

"N-no, we're gay too!" Joonmyeon whisper yelled in a stutter. 

"Oh thank god. See, I told you so Sehun!" Zitao whined to his boyfriend. 

"Shut up," Sehun grumbled, rolling his eyes. 

"Are you guys together?" Zitao asked, and Jongdae immediately made wretching noises. 

"That's the worst idea I've ever heard," Jongdae groaned. 

"No, we're not dating. We're best friends though," Joonmyeon responded with a chuckle. 

"Best friends who fuck a little on the side?" Sehun asked. Joonmyeon choked on his own spit. 

"No, not that either," Joonmyeon responded, and Jongdae cleared his throat. 

"Just friends," Jongdae added. 

"Are you guys looking for guys then?" Zitao asked. "I don't know if this would be the best place." 

Jongdae was going to come up with some snappy response but just then, the new group of four noticed that a lot of the protesters had disappeared. They could see that a few yards ahead, police were sending protesters away, and things looked like they would quickly get messy. 

"Let's fight!" Zitao cried. 

"I'm not getting pepper sprayed again," Sehun responded. 

Zitao sighed. "True. Anyways, we've got to protect these kids. They're clearly not ready for a throwdown with the police." 

"Agreed. Do you guys wanna come back to our hotel room and hang out for a bit?" Sehun asked, playing with Zitao's fingers. Jongdae and Joonmyeon shared a look and shrugged. 

"What's the harm? Let's go," Jongdae said. 

"Come on, we're not far from here," Zitao said, gesturing for the two boys to follow him. Jongdae and Joonmyeon shared a look, shrugged, and followed the couple down the bustling city street. 


	12. The Times They Are A-Changin' by Bob Dylan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the lack of updates! I've been so busy lately with finals and moving, but I promise to get back on track with frequent updates. 
> 
> How is everyone liking the story so far? We have only a few more chapters until the story ends; are there any last things you want to see? Likes? Dislikes? Leave me a comment and let me know! Your suggestion might just make its way into the story. 
> 
> Thank you so much to everyone who has read, subscribed, left kudos, and commented on this story! It means the world to me. Now, here's the update!

The First Week of August, 1969, Washington DC

Zitao was right when he said he and Sehun's hotel wasn't far from the protest. Even on foot, the group arrived back within a few minutes, letting themselves inside. The room wasn't particularly nice, with well-worn furniture and a stained carpet, but Sehun and Zitao were young like Joonmyeon and Jongdae. They must have been on a budget. 

Sehun and Zitao immediately flopped their long limbs onto the bed as Jongdae and Joonmyeon sat on the two chairs. 

"So, are you guys gonna murder us?" Jongdae joked, and the whole group laughed. Joonmyeon was surprised at himself; he'd agreed to go with these guys without even thinking of the dangers. He really was loosening up. 

But that thought brought up thoughts of Yifan, the one who had helped him break out of his shell. How was he doing? Was he safe? Was he back on the road. Joonmyeon shook his head quickly, trying to will those thoughts away before he ended up crying in front of these strangers. 

"How did you guys end up here in DC?" Zitao asked as Sehun looked at his nails. 

"We're on a road trip, actually. We just finished high school in June and we wanted to take a trip together before college started," Jongdae started. 

"Fuck college," Sehun muttered under his breath. 

"What? Why?" Joonmyeon asked. Zitao and Sehun turned to each other and laughed. 

"We dropped out, actually," Zitao explained. "Now we go around to protests, trying to fight for what we believe in. We were basically useless at school. Right baby?"

"Of course," Sehun responded. Joonmyeon and Jongdae shared a look. 

"Where are you guys from again?" Zitao asked. 

"Oregon," Joonmyeon responded, and both Sehun and Zitao became wide eyed. 

"You guys are really far from home," Sehun spoke. 

Joonmyeon hadn't really thought about it in a while, but he was far from home. Somehow, he was much less homesick than he thought he would be. 

"We are," he responded whistfully. 

"So, are you guys headed to Woodstock?" Zitao asked. 

"It's not too far from here and it's a couple of weeks away; you could definitely make it," Sehun added. 

"We've heard a lot about it," Jongdae responded. 

"I dunno..." Joonmyeon trailed off. 

"What do you mean?" Jongdae interrupted. "We're definitely going!" 

"What?" Joonmyeon cried. All he could think about is that Yifan was going there too, and he wasn't sure if he was ready to see him again. 

"We're going there too. We should definitely meet up," Zitao said, and everyone effectively ignored Joonmyeon. 

"For sure," Sehun added. 

"That sounds groovy," Jongdae responded. "It's gonna be the event of a lifetime." Joonmyeon just sighed on the sidelines. 

"So you guys just...go to protests?" Joonmyeon asked. He wanted to get the topic off of Woodstock, to push away his foreboding dread. He didn't want to think about seeing Yifan. He didn't want to think about Yifan at all. 

Zitao grinned. "Yeah. It's pretty great." 

"If you want to the world to be a better place, you've got to fight for it," Sehun added. 

"What are you guys actually fighting for?" Jongdae asked. 

"So many things," Zitao responded. "So many things need fixing in the world." 

"We fight for civil rights, women's rights, the environment...and we fight against the war," Sehun explained. 

"No more war in Vietnam," Zitao added. 

"Make love, not war!" Sehun cheered, gesturing to the signs he and Zitao had made earlier. Joonmyeon and Jongdae smiled, understanding Zitao and Sehun's purpose a little bit more. 

Zitao gasped suddenly and looked at all of them. "You guys are gay, right?" 

Joonmyeon and Jongdae hesitated for a moment before nodding. 

"Have you heard about Stonewall?" He asked. Jongdae and Joonmyeon looked at each other before shaking their heads. 

"So, you know how the police always raid our bars, right?" 

"Our bars?" Jongdae questioned. 

Sehun sighed. "Gay bars," he explained. 

"O-oh," Joonmyeon stuttered in response. He didn't know there were bars for just gay people. 

"Anyways, there's this bar in New York City called Stonewall, and the police raided it because they're assholes. But the people inside...they fought back. They rioted against the damn policemen, and they've fucking started something!" Zitao said excitedly. 

"It's just the beginning, I swear. The beginning of our movement," Sehun added, sharing a smile with Zitao. He slumped lower in the bed and rested his head on Zitao's shoulder. 

"That's...really cool actually," Jongdae responded sincerely. 

"Maybe the police will finally leave us the fuck alone," Sehun responded. Zitao, Jongdae, and Joonmyeon hummed their agreements. 

Suddenly, Joonmyeon's stomach audibly growled, and they all laughed. 

"Hungry?" Zitao asked, and Joonmyeon nodded. 

"I am too," Sehun spoke, and Jongdae nodded in agreement. 

"Should we get dinner?" Jongdae asked. 

"It's probably still a disaster out there," Sehun spoke. 

"I'm sure it's gotten violent," Zitao added. 

"Room service it is then!" Jongdae cheered, dialing up the hotel to order the food. 

As Jongdae was busy ordering, Joonmyeon began to watch Sehun and Zitao's interactions. He noticed the way Zitao's fingers curled around Sehun's, how their thighs and arms touched on the bed, how they whispered their 'I love yous' into each other's ears, how their eyes locked and their lips formed into soft smiles at the sight of each other. It was beautiful, really, they were a perfect couple. But Joonmyeon couldn't help but feel his own heart sink. It made him miss all of those little soft caresses from Yifan, reminding him that all was right with the world. It made think about how un-perfect he and Yifan were for each other: one a musician, the other an academic, both hell bent on a dream that was almost impossible to fit the other into. But what brought Joonmyeon down was the almost. If they'd worked a little harder, they could have made sure to keep each other in their separate lives. 

But what made Joonmyeon the most upset was hearing Zitao and Sehun say I love you. Yifan had said it to him, only once, just as Joonmyeon was throwing him out of the car. Joonmyeon couldn't have even been sure he meant it; it could have just been a desperate attempt to keep him around, unsincere. Joonmyeon didn't get to say it at all. And he knew that if he would have said it, he would have meant it. 

Joonmyeon rubbed his eyes to stop himself from crying, trying to focus on literally anything but what was going on in his thoughts. 

"Are you okay?" Sehun suddenly asked. Joonmyeon shook his head and forced on a smile. 

"Y-yeah, I'm fine." 

Joonmyeon was pulled from his thoughts as soon as Jongdae hung up the phone, talking with the others until their dinner arrived. Luckily, he distracted from his sad thoughts from then on, instead focusing on having fun with Jongdae and his new friends. 

After eating dinner they talked about random things until late at night, from music to movies By the time the boys were done talking, the sky was pitch black and the clock read 12:30. 

"It's so late," Jongdae spoke with a groan. 

"It might be dangerous to go back out onto the street. You two can just stay here for the night if you want. We'll set up some blankets," Zitao responded. 

"Really?" Jongdae responded. 

"That would be so nice," Joonmyeon added. 

Sehun shrugged in his typical non-chalant way. "It's no problem, man." 

Joonmyeon and Jongdae expressed their gratitude to their newfound friends, setting up a little makeshift bed on the floor of the hotel room out of spare pillows and blankets. 

"Good night," Sehun whispered, and Jongdae and Joonmyeon heard Zitao give him a kiss on the cheek. 

"Good night," they both responded, quickly falling deep asleep from the adventures of the day. 

~~~~~~~~~~

Early the next morning, when the sun was just rising in the sky, Joonmyeon and Jongdae snuck out of Zitao and Sehun's hotel room. They walked down the streets, so empty compared to when they first arrived, back to the VW and hopped inside. 

Starting the car and turning on the heat, Jongdae looked over at Joonmyeon. 

"Those guys were nice," he said. "Weird, but nice." 

"Agreed," Joonmyeon responded as Jongdae headed back towards the highway. 

"I'm glad we'll see them at Woodstock," Jongdae spoke, and Joonmyeon sleepily nodded. 

"I wonder what will happen next?" Joonmyeon mused. 

"Agreed," Jongdae hummed, and sped down the road to their next adventure. 


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM SO, SO SORRY FOR DISAPPEARING FOR SO LONG!!! I just got back home from college for the summer, plus I worked at a summer camp for 3 weeks (with the hours plus commuting there and back my days were 12 hours long) so I've been CRAZY busy. I can't promise consistent updates since I'll be going on vacation plus I actually have friends in my hometown. But I'll try my best to update more frequently since I love writing and I love that you guys like what I'm putting out there! Thank you for being patient with me and I hope it pays off! Since it's been a while I would personally reccomend reading a few chapters back before reading this just to catch up. Warning: I'm a little out of practice since I haven't written anything in a month so if it's not up to my usual standard I'm sorry T.T but I hope you enjoy anyways!

The Second Week of August, 1969, Pennsylvania

Joonmyeon sighed. "I can't believe we're really going to Woodstock." They'd been driving through the Northeast for a few days now, having passed out of Washington DC and into cooler, greener territory. Now they were in Pennsylvania, the roads surrounded by lush greenery, fast, clean cars wizzing by them every few seconds. Every so often, another VW van passed by too, dirty and covered in peace sign stickers. Young kids hung out of the sides, wearing their long hair down in the breeze of the car and flowing clothes. It made Jongdae smile to see them; he knew they were headed to Woodstock too. They were all one and the same, connected with these other kids they knew nothing about. Joonmyeon, however, was only filled with dread at the sight of them. Everything about them reminded him of Yifan: their clothes, their music, their smell, their air. He knew as he and Jongdae drove alongside them, they were getting closer and closer to Yifan again. As much as Joonmyeon missed him and craved his presence, he knew he'd have to face his decision of leaving Yifan behind. He wasn't sure he could face that decision at all, not to mention Baekhyun and Jongin's anger. 

"Are you fucking kidding me? It's going to be the event of the century, man! We couldn't miss it for anything," Jongdae responded as he sped up the road, heading towards New York state for the festival. He was dressed lazily, too casually, and he had bags under his eyes. He was tired, mostly just from listening to Joonmyeon's incessant whining about Yifan. But his hair had begun to grow out longer, having been refusing to cut it with a switchblade like Joonmyeon, and Jongdae was starting to feel like a true hippie. Maybe he could tie it up with a bandana. But the even more pleasing thought, of a (hopefully naked) Yixing placing flowers in his long hair, kept him from cutting it short even when it tickled his face annoyingly in the breeze of the car.

"B-but...what if we see Yifan?" Joonmyeon blubbered. He looked like a mess too. He looked gaunt and exhausted, the will to eat and sleep once Yifan left still coming back to him. And even though his hair was still short, it was jagged at the end from trying to cut it himself, without a mirror. 

Jongdae groaned loudly. "Is that really why you're so hesitant? You know there's going to be a shit ton of people there. Anyways, you're willing to miss this amazing experience just because you're afraid to see your ex? Come on, don't be such a fucking wimp. Have you learned nothing from this trip?" 

Joonmyeon just sighed, slumping down into his seat. Jongdae sighed back and drove on through the New England roads. 

"A hitchhiker!" Joonmyeon suddenly cried, pointing to a distant figure along the road. He was grateful for any distraction from thoughts of Yifan. 

As they drive closer, the figure becomes clearer. It was a very tall boy, around their age, with huge ears, big, round eyes, and a sloppy grin. He had few bags but a lot of drum equipment in broken cases covered in stickers. He looked like the kind of dumb yet sweet person everyone couldn't help but love. 

Jongdae unrolled the window once they were beside the man. 

"Headed to Woodstock?" The hitchhiker asked. 

"Of course. Get inside," Jongdae responded, and the hitchhiker got inside. 

"What's your guy's names? What's your story? Why are you headed to Woodstock?" The hitchhiker asked enthusiastically, tossing his many things next to him as Jongdae began to drive. 

"Uh, I'm Jongdae and this is Joonmyeon. We're on a road trip that we started at the beginning of summer after high school, since we're both starting college in the fall. And we're going to woodstock because Joonmyeon needs to make up with--"

"Because we want to end our road trip with a bang," Joonmyeon interrupted, but Chanyeol seemed unfazed. 

"I'm Chanyeol; I'm a drummer. I think I'm pretty good but my last group kicked me out. I'm trying to find a new group to play with at Woodstock," Chanyeol explained, even though he didn't seem too unhappy about getting kicked out of his last group. 

"Wait, dude! I actually know a group you can play with!" Jongdae spoke excitedly, and Joonmyeon held back a groan. 

"Really? They need a drummer?"

"Yes! They're called Flowers of the Sun; they're great," Jongdae explained. This time, Joonmyeon couldn't hold back his groan. Now he was guarunteed to have to see Yifan again. 

"What's wrong? Are they bad?" Chanyeol asked. 

"No; Joonmyeon's ex is just in that group. They didn't exactly break up on good terms," Jongdae explained. 

"Jongdae!" Joonmyeon whined. "Don't air out my personal business to strangers!" 

"I'm not a stranger. I'm Chanyeol." 

Jongdae held back a laugh and Joonmyeon just continued to pout. 

"Seriously. This is getting annoying, Joonmyeon. You can't keep wishing he'd come back. You're the one who dumped him! Is this why you're afraid to see him again; because you know you were in the wrong?" Everyone became frozen with the tension in the air. 

"...Wait, so what exactly happened?" Chanyeol asked after a long pause. 

"So, about a month ago we picked up the band Flowers of the Sun, who were also on their way to Woodstock. Joonmyeon and their leader fell madly in love and they were inseperable. But then they got into a fight about their future and Joonmyeon kicked Yifan out of the car and broke up with him," Jongdae explained. Joonmyeon sniffled softly and Chanyeol nodded sadly. 

"That's sad. You really love him, don't you?" Chanyeol spoke. After a long, long pause, Joonmyeon nodded. 

Jongdae looked at Joonmyeon with surprise. "Really? Did you ever say it?" 

"No," Joonmyeon said, and he sounded so small, curled up into a ball in the passenger's seat. 

"That's...really sad. Did he ever say he loved you?" 

"Yes, yes he did. And I just ignored him completely," Jongdae responded. 

"It's true love then," Chanyeol mumbled. 

"God, you care about him so much; I can just tell. You have to make things right, or at least try," Jongdae said. 

Joonmyeon hummed. "Maybe so," he said softly, remembering all of the amazing times he had with Yifan. The day they first met, cuddling in the van together, Yifan protecting him from the police, when Yifan took his virginity and made love to him so sweetly and wonderfully that Joonmyeon would cherish it forever. He couldn't just give up all these special times with Yifan. He had to make it work. He had to. 

"What does that sign say? Up ahead?" Jongdae asked suddenly, his tone full of excitement. Chanyeol and Joonmyeon squinted and leaned forward. 

"Woodstock!" Chanyeol cheered. 

"Just a few miles up ahead," Joonmyeon added. Both Jongdae and Joonmyeon seemed to perk up from their deep state of exhaustion, awakening from the drudgery of driving down those empty roads for miles with nothing but Joonmyeon tears filling the time. 

Jongdae grinned. "We're on our way." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you guys for reading! I really hope you all enjoyed the chapter. I was on vacation until friday so sorry the next update came out until then T.T sorry! If you want, leave a comment saying what your favorite part was (if you had one). I respond to every one, and then I can see what kind of stuff you guys like and include it in the next chapter! The finale of this story is coming up! The next two chapters will tie the story together. I hope you've all enjoyed it so far and look forward to the end! Thank you all so much!
> 
> Love, 
> 
> RainbowDonkeys
> 
> PS should I change my ao3 user? (I made it, like, 3-4 years ago, when I was a sophomore in high school, now I'm a sophomore in college). Or has it become kind of my thing now? 


	14. Across the Universe by The Beatles

The Second Week of August, 1969, Woodstock Festival

It took hours, but Joonmyeon, Jongdae, and Chanyeol had finally made it inside Woodstock. There were stages, set up shops, and people everywhere, the scent of drugs and liquor and humnaity snaking through the crowds. The amount of people was overwhelming but somehow, electrifying all at once. Jongdae, Chanyeol, and even Joonmyeon loved every minute of it. 

The trio had just begun to set up camp when two tall figures tapped Jongdae on the back. Although he was startled at first, he grinned as soon as he saw who it was. 

"Zitao! Sehun!" Jongdae cried as they pulled him into a hug. 

"I am so glad you made it," Zitao responded excitedly, reaching over to hug Joonmyeon as well before returning to Sehun. The pair looked Chanyeol up and down, checking him out and sizing him up, and Chanyeol grinned back obliviously. 

"Hi! I'm Chanyeol. I'm a drummer," he introduced cheerfully, holding out his hand for them to shake. Zitao and Sehun shook his hand with their blank, model like expressions, Chanyeol's handshakes a little too vigorous for their liking. 

"How did you guys even get in here? It took us hours," Jongdae groaned. 

"We hitchhiked," Sehun explained. 

"I did too!" Chanyeol interjected. 

"Where are you staying?" Zitao asked. Jongdae gestured to the tent he, Joonmyeon, and Chanyeol had set up. 

"We bought this a couple days ago," he explained. "What about you two?" 

"Same," Sehun responded. 

"There are so many amazing sights!" Chanyeol gasped, looking around at everything. 

"We should get back to our tent before anyone steals anything. But we'll walk with you guys if you wanna explore," Zitao spoke. 

"Sounds like a plan," Jongdae responded with a grin. 

As excited as Joonmyeon was, he couldn't help but be distracted. Even as he walked with his friends, his mind was entirely focused on the idea of seeing Yifan again. Due to the amount of people at the festival, it was really unlikely Joonmyeon would even see him, but the very idea still left Joonmyeon distracted and shaken. 

"So what have you two been up to since we left Washington DC?" Jongdae asked Sehun and Zitao. 

"Well, we stayed in DC a few days after you two left, to go to some more protests. They were pretty violent, though. After that we left and went to New York City for while, and then we came here," Zitao explained. 

"That's our tent, baby," Zitao spoke, gesturing to his and Sehun's little area that they'd carved out, his arm wrapped around Sehun's waist. To Jongdae and Joonmyeon's relief, Chanyeol seemed unfazed by their relationship. If he wanted to be in Flowers of the Sun, he'd have to be accepting of gay people (since all the members were super gay). 

"We're going to go in. Watch our stuff, catch some performances, you know," Sehun explained. 

"It was nice meeting you!" Chanyeol spoke excitedly. 

"Well, I'm sure we'll see you around," Joonmyeon spoke. 

"We'll make sure to find you before we go," Zitao responded, and they headed off. 

"Want to walk around a bit more?" Jongdae asked. Joonmyeon and Chanyeol nodded, and they continued to walk around. 

"Jongdae? Joonmyeon? Is that you guys?" A voice suddenly called out. The trio spinned around to find a VW van, the doors open, appearing to be selling who knows what. Inside was Yixing, Luhan, and Minseok, Luhan sitting on Minseok's lap. 

"Hey!" Jongdae cheered, rushing over to their van as Joonmyeon and Jongdae quickly followed. They hugged Minseok, their old hitchhiking buddy, as well as Luhan and Yixing. 

"Hi, I'm Chanyeol," he cheerfully introduced, unfazed by all the new people they were meeting. 

Yixing eyed Chanyeol and shook his hand. "I'm Yixing. I like your soul energy; it's very bright." 

"Nice to meet you," Minseok spoke, and Luhan gave a little nod. 

"What brings you all to the festival?" Yixing asked in his soft voice. 

"We're at the end of our road trip," Jongdae explained. 

"And I need to find a new band," Chanyeol added. 

"What about you guys?" Joonmyeon asked. 

"We wanted to make the journey because Yixing thinks this festival will align the energies of the earth," Minseok explained. Yixing nodded as Chanyeol looked on in confusion. 

"Are you guys selling stuff?" Jongdae asked. 

Luhan nodded. "No, we're trading. Food for the journey, in exchange for our home grown magic mushrooms." Chanyeol just looked on, even more confused. 

"I'll explain later," Joonmyeon whispered into his ear. 

"How are you two doing?" Jongdae asked, gesturing to Luhan and Minseok. 

"We're doing wonderfully. I'm the happiest I've ever been," Minseok responded. Luhan smiled softly and snuggled deeper into Minseok's lap, Minseok holding him tight. 

"The aura of their passion burns bright," Yixing spoke. "Speaking of passion, how are you, my Jongdae?"

Jongdae smirked. "I've been good. I have missed you though," he responded, throwing Yixing a greasy wink. 

"Come, let me show you our vehicle," Yixing spoke, and Jongdae immediately left his friends. 

"Jongdae!" Joonmyeon whisper yelled. Jongdae shrugged his shoulders and grinned, mouthing a 'sorry' to Joonmyeon and Chanyeol, even though he didn't look sorry at all. Joonmyeon glared at him as Jongdae escaped into Yixing's car, Joonmyeon turning to Minseok and Luhan with a sigh. 

"Well, it was great seeing you guys," he said with frustration. 

"You too, Joonmyeon. And Chanyeol, nice meeting you!" Minseok responded. Chanyeol gave them a friendly smile and he and Joonmyeon began to walk back to their tent. 

"What just happened?" Chanyeol whispered to Joonmyeon. 

"So, Yixing is the leader of a hippie commune we accidentally stumbled across a couple months ago, and he and Jongdae hooked up, so Jongdae's going in for round two," Joonmyeon explained. 

"Weird. But I guess it makes sense now," Chanyeol responded. He continued to walk forward, but suddenly, Joonmyeon was frozen still. 

Just in front of him were the members of Flowers of the Sun, standing around near the stage with their band equipment. Joonmyeon hoped to god they wouldn't notice him but before they could move, Baekhyun turned his head. 

"J-Joonmyeon? Is that you?" He asked. 

Joonmyeon managed a slight smile. "It's me." 

"Holy shit!" Baekhyun cried, rushing over to him as Jongin and Kyungsoo followed. Joonmyeon knew soon he'd have to see Yifan again, but Yifan wasn't here with the group. Maybe Joonmyeon could escape him once again. 

"Hey you," Baekhyun spoke, looking over Chanyeol with a grin. "Who's this?" He asked Joonmyeon. 

"I-I'm Ch-Chanyeol. I-I drum," Chanyeol stuttered, looking over Baekhyun with pink cheeks. 

"Shit, you drum?" Jongin spoke, holding hands with Kyungsoo. "We need a drummer!"

"A-are you guys Flowers of the Sun?" Chanyeol asked. Baekhyun nodded. "I-I've heard a lot about you." 

"You'd better have," Baekhyun responded, throwing Chanyeol a wink. "How did you find Joonmyeon?" 

"Hitch-chhiking," Chanyeol choked out, his heart almost audibly thumping in his chest. 

"Go flirt over there, you two," Kyungsoo spoke with a sigh. Baekhyun slapped Kyungsoo's shoulder playfully but giggled, leading Chanyeol away as Chanyeol stuttered and stammered uncomfortably. 

"How are you guys? What are you doing here?" Joonmyeon asked Kyungsoo. 

"Well, after you kicked us all out," Jongin started, punctuated with an eye roll directed at Joonmyeon, "We had no idea where we were going to go. But I already was starting to miss Soo so I forced us all to go hitchhike back to the police station to pick him up. Kyungsoo went with us right away, and luckily he had a car, so with a little speeding we were able to make it on time." 

"I never thought I'd see you at a place like this. With Jongin, no less," Joonmyeon admitted. 

"I never thought I would either. But Jongin....Jongin is..." Kyungsoo trailed off, grimacing in his tough police officer way. "He's precious to me," Kyungsoo mumbled in the tiniest voice, sorta hoping no one would hear. 

But they both heard and as Joonmyeon cooed over them, Jongin pelted kisses all over Kyungsoo's face. Kyungsoo glared at Jongin, but Joonmyeon could see he was sort of smiling. 

"I quit my job at the station and now I go with Jongin," Kyungsoo explained. 

"He's our first groupie," Jongin said with a smirk, and Kyungsoo gave him a real glare that time. Immediately, Jongin was quiet. 

"I am going to take over as manager though. Flowers of the Sun's current manager said he was gonna quit after this show," Kyungsoo explained. "Therefore, I am not a groupie," He spoke through gritted teeth. Jongin and Joonmyeon laughed. 

"If you say so," Joonmyeon mumbled, and Kyungsoo's glare shut him right up too. 

"How are you doing?" Kyungsoo asked after a long, uncomfortable pause. 

"I'm...I'm okay," Joonmyeon spoke with a sigh. That wasn't a lie; the fun of the festival and the road trip and seeing all his friends again was made bad by the pain of missing Yifan.

Just then, an extremely tall figure emerged from the backstage. Joonmyeon caught the man's beautiful eye, and was frozen still. There he was, the man he'd given everything to: Wu Yifan. 


	15. Song for the Asking by Simon and Garfunkel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here it is! The final chapter! I really, really hope you all enjoy the ending and the story as a whole so far! What did you think? Let me know in the comments! It's been a pleasure writing this story for you all. I hope to see you on my next exo story, which will probably come out soon (vote in the poll below to let me know what kind of story you want to see). If you like NCT, I'm currently writing a soulmate au about them now! Thank you all so much! 
> 
> Love, 
> 
> RainbowDonkeys

The Second Week of August, 1969, Woodstock

As soon as Joonmyeon saw Yifan he tried to turn his head away, to not be seen, but Yifan spotted him easily. Taking a moment's pause, he strode over to Joonmyeon cautiously. 

Joonmyeon watched Yifan approached him. He was just as stunningly gorgeous as he'd been before, his dirty blonde hair messy on his head, his cheekbones chiseled. But there were bags under his eyes, and his eyes had lost their lustre. But seeing Joonmyeon again, Joonmyeon could tell Yifan had a glimmer of hope. Despite how much he repressed it, Joonmyeon felt the same way. Finally, Yifan was in front of him, standing tall above him. 

He exhaled before speaking. "Hi," he simply said. 

"H-hello," Joonmyeon stuttered back, as nervous as he'd been the first day they'd met. They returned to silence, not quite knowing how to start the inevitable talk that they had to do. "How are you?" Joonmyeon finally asked. 

"I've been better," Yifan admitted truthfully. 

"Me too," Joonmyeon responded. The silence came back. 

"I've missed you," Yifan quietly spoke. 

Joonmyeon took a long pause. "Me too," he said again. They turned and finally noticed that Jongin and Kyungsoo were still there. Joonmyeon chuckled awkwardly and Yifan simply grimaced. 

"Uh, we're just going to, go over here," Jongin said, grabbing Kyungsoo's arm and tugging him away from the former couple. Joonmyeon and Yifan watched them go with forlorn expressions, sighing when they had to turn back to each other. 

"Look, I--" Joonmyeon started. 

"I love you, Joonmyeon," Yifan interrupted. "I said it before and I'll say it again. I want to make this work. We have to." 

Joonmyeon was silent at Yifan's declaration, looking up at him. He wasn't quite sure what to say to all of that. 

"Now I know you have your dreams, and I have mine. I respect that. It was hard living without you, really hard, but what was worse was knowing you hated me. Knowing that if I called you or wrote you a letter, you wouldn't respond." 

"I would respond," Joonmyeon interrupted. "I would've." 

"Wh-what I'm saying is, I want to make this work. Even if we have to do a long distance relationship, it's worth it, because I'll be in a relationship with you. And you're all I've ever wanted." 

Joonmyeon swallowed thickly and looked down at the grass beneath him before looking up at Yifan. "I love you too," he choked out through tears. "I love you so much." He leapt into Yifan's arms, holding Yifan tight as Yifan held him back. He buried his head into the crook of Joonmyeon's neck, holding him close, never wanting to let go. 

"I want to make this work too. I'm so sorry for ever kicking you out, for telling you your dreams were stupid, because they're not." 

"And neither are yours," Yifan responded. "Oh, I love you, Joonmyeon. I'm so glad you feel the same. I-I'm sorry too." 

"I'm just glad we can be together again," Joonmyeon spoke, pulling away from the hug. Yifan rubbed his thumb underneath Joonmyeon's cheek. 

"Don't cry," he spoke as he wiped away Joonmyeon's tears, giving him a big smile. "Things are gonna be alright." 

"They are, my love," Joonmyeon responded, sniffling at him and smiling back. Suddenly, Yifan picked Joonmyeon up and kissed him square on the lips. Joonmyeon wrapped his arms around Yifan's neck and his legs around his waist, kissing him back with all of the passion and love he'd had to hold back since Yifan left his side. Yifan spun him around, still kissing, not even caring who saw, because he was finally back with the man he was sure was his soulmate. Joonmyeon almost wanted everyone to see, he was so proud of his love. 

Yifan finally put Joonmyeon down and the couple giggled at each other, interlacing their fingers as Joonmyeon buried his head in Yifan's broad chest. 

"Oh thank god," Jongdae spoke as he passed by Joonmyeon and Yifan. "Now Joonmyeon can finally shut up about you." 

Joonmyeon giggled, smiling at Jongdae as Yifan held him close. "You're glowing. How was Yixing?"

Jongdae let out a whistful sigh. "Hot as ever. How are you two?"

"Good as ever," Yifan responded, placing a kiss to the top of Joonmyeon's head. 

"Where are the others?" Jongdae asked. 

"Baekhyun and Chanyeol are probably having sex by this point and Jongin and Kyungsoo are setting up for our set," Yifan explained. 

"Speaking of..." Jongdae spoke. 

"Jongdae!" Baekhyun screamed, running over to him and wrapping him in a big hug. "You smell like sex," he added, looking Jongdae up and down. 

"Yixing's here," Jongdae explained, then sniffed the air. "You do too." 

"The drummer guy you brought for us is quite the catch." 

"Hey Jongdae!" Jongin called from afar. Jongdae waved to him and Kyungsoo. 

"We're on in five," Jongin said to Yifan. Yifan nodded back to him and looked at Joonmyeon. 

"I'll be here. Good luck, love," Joonmyeon said softly. Yifan grinned at Joonmyeon, pecking his cheek as Chanyeol, Baekhyun, Jongin, and him raced onstage. 

"Hello everyone! We are Flowers of the Sun!" Yifan said into the mic. The crowd cheered, but Joonmyeon was still the loudest. 

They started with an upbeat, fun song, Chanyeol's drumming fitting in well with their band. 

"I'm surprised he's actually good," Jongdae whispered into Joonmyeon's ear. But Joonmyeon's eyes were glued to Yifan, playing the bass and keeping the whole band going. Jongdae smiled when he noticed Kyungsoo's eyes were glued to Jongin too. 

Joonmyeon couldn't help but feel proud of his boyfriend. There were so many people here, and so many huge bands, and they got to be a part of it. Yifan's dream was being fulfilled, and Joonmyeon got to be a part of it. He couldn't have been happier. 

After a few songs, Yifan grabbed the mic from Baekhyun. 

"This next song is dedicated to someone very, very special to me," Yifan spoke, his eyes on Joonmyeon. "I'll never let you kick me out of your car again," he spoke. "I love you," he whispered, and went back to his place to start the song. 

"I love you too," Joonmyeon mouthed back to Yifan. Yifan gave him a smile, and the song began to play. 

As the music played, Joonmyeon felt his heart melt. Clearly, Yifan had written this song, all about how much he adored Joonmyeon. Joonmyeon's was touched. 

"Don't cry you big baby," Jongdae teased as Joonmyeon wiped his tears away. 

"Shut up! I'm not crying," Joonmyeon responded, sniffling softly. 

The song finished and Joonmyeon beamed at Yifan, Yifan smiling back. 

"That's the end of today's set. We're Flowers of the Sun, thank you all!" Yifan spoke before all of the members of his band left the stage. 

"You were amazing!" Joonmyeon screamed as soon as Yifan was back in the audience, running into his arms for a hug. Yifan held him back. 

"You think so? I'm glad," Yifan responded. 

"A-and that song you wrote for me....so beautiful. Thank you," Joonmyeon said. Yifan kissed the top of Joonmyeon's head. 

"It was good?" He asked. 

"Great," Joonmyeon responded. Yifan kissed Joonmyeon again on the lips and they took each other's hands, leaving the others to clean up and organize their things from the show. 

"This really has been an amazing summer," Joonmyeon said softly as the couple weaved their way through the dense crowds. They passed vendors and friends and couples, just like them, laying on the grass beneath the sun, listening to the music and falling deeper and deeper in love. "I'll never forget it, ever, even when I'm old and grey." 

"Me neither," Yifan responded, squeezing Joonmyeon's small hand, held in his own. 

"Best summer of my life," Joonmyeon added. 

"That's for sure," Yifan said. 

Joonmyeon sighed. "But what now?"

"Well, we start by appreciating the time we have left, right now. Spending our time together and chilling out the rest of the summer. Then, you go to school, I go on tour, we meet up as often as we can. Then, after that, next summer, we try to make it as magical as this one. Does that sound like a plan?"

Joonmyeon smiled up at Yifan. "Most definitely," he responded. "Do you promise?"

"I promise," Yifan responded. 

"I'm going to hold you to that," Joonmyeon warned, leaning on Yifan. 

"You'd better," he responded, and Joonmyeon believed him. 


End file.
